


Nebraska

by GreatestChange



Series: Roll with the Punches [7]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:35:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23431045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreatestChange/pseuds/GreatestChange
Summary: Due to some complications, Opal goes into an early labor. Asami and Korra head down to Nebraska in support of her, but that also means being in the presence of Mako for the next couple of days, along with the rest of Opal's quirky family.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Series: Roll with the Punches [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1347502
Comments: 336
Kudos: 1004





	1. An Impromptu Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, hope you're doing well.
> 
> I'm thinking this will go for about 7 or 8 chapters. Most of it's already written and I just have to make some heavy edits.
> 
> I've had The Weeknd's new album on repeat and ughhhhhh. The Korra vibes, man. THE VIBES.
> 
> OK, anyway. Have fun with this... interesting fic. Stay safe, stay at home and STOP. TOUCHIN'. YOUR. FACE.

The stagnant plane had been sitting on the tarmac for almost 45 minutes now, the heavy rain and a couple of late travelers holding things up. Korra watched from the window seat as a few more people ran to the plane. It was entering into the early evening, but it was a lot darker outside than it normally would be at this time. She could hear the small conversations around her, some people concerned on whether the plane would even take off or not, but every now and then the pilot would come over the intercom and reassure them that they’d be headed up soon.

When Korra witnessed the very last person running up to the plane, she turned to Asami.

“The last person just boarded. It’s only a matter of time now,” she said. Asami only seemed to be half listening. Her face stayed in her phone as her foot tapped impatiently, or out of anxiousness. Korra touched her wrist and lowered the phone, finally snapping Asami out of it. “You should probably turn that off for now.”

“I haven’t heard anything since Opal delivered the baby,” Asami said, her brows knitting together in frustration. “I have no idea what’s happening, or if they’re even okay.”

“Maybe they just got caught up in the moment, you know?” Korra offered.

“Yeah, a moment I should have been there for,” Asami replied bitterly and turned her attention back to her phone again.

Korra sighed and put her hand on top of her girlfriend’s knee, rubbing it to provide some level of comfort. The last 18 hours were grueling on them both with having to cancel hotel reservations, attempting to book the earliest flight to Nebraska (only for each flight to keep getting cancelled because of the weather), then driving home to pack, and of course heading to the airport. Korra never felt more fatigued and probably couldn’t even count to ten at the moment, but she knew the easiest part was over.

The discombobulated way everything could turn upside down so fast set Korra off balance. They finished the night off strong at the charity ball, and Korra never felt more proud of herself for managing to get through it despite the not so great start they had. She couldn’t wait to see what more Asami had planned for their “romantic weekend.” But just like that, they were quickly thrust back into a harsh reality. The minute Asami got the call from Mako about Opal collapsing two days ago, her face said it all. She was scared, angry, sad, and most of all, hurt. Hurt that she wasn’t there, hurt that she’d been so out of the loop, hurt at seemingly being shut out from a group she called her family.

Korra tried to comfort her as best she could, but Asami seemed to reject those efforts out of a necessity. The need to busy herself with planning out the details, figuring out her work schedule for the next week; anything to distract her so that she wouldn’t break down. Now, however, they’d be on a plane for the next six to seven hours, and without her phone to check every other minute, there would only be duplicitous thoughts and fears to keep Asami company.

Wanting to prevent that, Korra tried to gain Asami’s attention again. “Hey. Asami, look at me, please.”

Releasing a loud breath, Asami dropped her phone and met Korra’s eyes for what felt like the first time in a while. She looked so tired and full of anguish.

Korra’s grip on her knee tightened.

“Talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking,” she said in earnest. They were the only two in their row, which gave some illusion of privacy.

Asami’s eyes lowered, her lashes batting against her cheeks as she fought back tears.

“I was planning a party,” she whispered, sounding shameful. “It’s all I’ve thought about for the past few days and it never crossed my mind to check on her. She’s been in the hospital for two whole days now and I’ve just been—” she let out a shaky breath and stopped herself.

Korra quieted her by wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and Asami didn’t resist this time. She buried her head in Korra’s shoulder and sniffed.

“You had no idea this would happen. Don’t do this to yourself,” Korra told her.

“I just wish I would’ve known. I would’ve dropped everything for her.”

“I know, and I’m sure they know that, too. But all we can do now is just hope that the doctors are taking excellent care of her and caught everything in time.”

“I’m scared, Korra,” Asami admitted in a small voice that tugged at Korra’s heart.

Korra brushed a hand through Asami’s hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m sure that she and the baby will make it out of this safely. If all the things you told me about her are true, then she’s a really tough woman.”

Asami nodded into her shoulder and sniffed again. Overhead, they heard the pilot call through the speakers that they were cleared to fly and to prepare for takeoff, earning a couple of cheers from other passengers.

“Just try to sleep for now, okay?” Korra asked Asami, continuing to stroke her hand through silky strands. “For me?”

She felt Asami relax against her, putting all of her weight on Korra, which Korra didn’t mind at all. She could take it. Whatever came next, she would be strong for the both of them.

* * *

Despite Korra’s best efforts, Asami didn’t sleep at all on either of the plane rides. However, once they got off their first flight in Denver, Asami immediately checked her phone for updates. To her great relief, both Opal and the baby made it out of surgery safely, though apparently Opal bled a lot more than the doctors expected and needed a transfusion. The latter part stuck with Asami the most, and once they got onto their hour-long connecting flight, her knee went back to bouncing up and down uncontrollably, and she'd constantly check for the time. It was music to Korra's ears when they officially touched down at a municipal airport and finally made it to Nebraska.

Asami already arranged for a car to come and pick them up. After putting their bags in the car, they headed straight to the hospital. For the most part, Korra kept her mind off the fact that she’d have to be inside one twice in the same year, but as they got closer and closer to their destination, the tension in her body wouldn’t release as her own anxiety began to build. She tried her best not to let it show next to Asami, though.

It wasn’t only the idea of being in a hospital again that freaked her out. She’d be unexpectedly dropping in on Bolin, Opal, and more than likely the rest of Opal’s family. They would probably wonder why she was even there in the first place. That would surely delight Mako in some capacity.

But even so, oh well, because she needed to be there for Asami. She made it clear the night before that she wanted to be wherever her girlfriend was and meant that. If she had to suffer through awkward introductions or looks of hatred, then she would. After all, love involved some levels of sacrifice, and they both sacrificed for each other so many times before. In the end, they were always stronger for it, too.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the hospital just as the last remnants of light left the sky. It was a nice night out, unlike New York before they left. But now that they were on central daylight time, it made the day seem even longer.

“Bolin said he’ll meet us out at the front main entrance,” Asami said after shooting a quick text. “Opal’s still kind of out of it and the doctors want to monitor her for the next two days.”

“I’m sure that’s just the standard procedure,” Korra said and turned to her. “How are you feeling?”

Asami shrugged. “A little better knowing they’re actually okay.”

Korra nodded. She could still hear the sadness and hurt behind Asami’s voice, but she didn’t want to push it right now. Asami would hold in whatever jaded feelings she had for the time being because she wanted to put on her best face for Opal and Bolin. Korra just hoped that if Mako knew what was best for him, he’d stay far away. He was the only person Asami could really be angry at, after all.

Once they got out of the car, Korra grabbed their suitcases out of the trunk. As she did, she heard Asami’s name being called by a familiar voice. Turning, she watched as Asami ran right into Bolin’s arms, hugging him tight.

“Bo! I’ve been going crazy all day. I was so scared,” Asami said, her words slightly muffled from their embrace. Bolin’s big arms enveloped her, and he practically picked her up as he held her.

“I’m so sorry. Everything happened so fast and suddenly. I thought Mako would’ve looped you in before booking his flight.”

Korra flinched at the sore subject being brought up right away, but if it bothered Asami, she didn’t show it. She only pulled away and gave him a small pat on the cheek.

“I’m here now. That’s all that matters, right?” she asked.

Bolin smiled. His eyes had rings around them, and he appeared twice as exhausted as the both of them combined, but that bright energy that Korra remembered from way back when continued to circle around him, but somehow differently. Different in an even better way if that was possible.

Just then, his eyes went from Asami’s to hers and he squinted briefly before the surprise hit him.

“Holy shit. Korra, is that you?”

Blushing, Korra rubbed the back of her neck and took a few steps forward.

“Yeah, it’s me. Hi, Bolin.” She wasn’t sure whether or not to shake hands or just stand there awkwardly as Bolin took her in.

Bolin did neither of those things. Instead, he walked right up and wrapped his arms around her in a similar fashion as he did with Asami. Korra gasped, unprepared for the embrace, but not offended. Bolin was right around her height, but his body filled out well enough to make Korra feel like she was hugging a bear. He wasn’t overly stocky, but Korra could tell that on his day-to-day he did a lot of heavy lifting.

When he pulled away finally, he wore a pleasant smile despite the tiredness. “Asami didn’t say you were coming too, but it’s so good to see you again finally.”

“I’m happy to be here. And congratulations to you and Opal on the baby, even though I know you probably imagined this going a lot smoother,” Korra said, with added sympathy to her tone at the latter half of the sentence.

“They’re both okay, the baby's healthy, and that’s more than I could ask for,” Bolin said.

“Is Opal awake?” Asami asked, touching his shoulder. “Can we see her?”

Bolin’s smile dimmed when he turned to her, but he nodded in confirmation.

“They’ve got her in the ICU for now. She lost a lot of blood and they’re calling it a postpartum hemorrhage. It’s slowed down, though, so she could be moved into a recovery room tomorrow.”

“Isn’t that good news? Why do you sound so sad about it?” Asami asked.

Bolin raked his fingers through his shaggy hair.

“Opal’s upset because she hasn’t seen the baby yet.”

“What?” Asami said in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“They put her under during the surgery, and after that they had to rush the baby to the NICU to check her breathing and everything. She’s fine, but Opal’s temperature spiked a little, so they’re taking precautions to make sure she’s not getting a fever.”

Asami’s hand went over her chest and she suddenly looked overwhelmed.

“It’s a girl?” she asked.

Bolin smiled again, a little harder this time. “Yeah. She’s small right now, but she’s beautiful.”

Asami pulled him in for another long embrace, laughing as she did.

“I’m so happy for you guys,” she said, sniffling. When she opened her eyes, she immediately found Korra’s, and for the first time all of the worry and fear left her expression. Korra couldn’t help but smile back.

“Come on. I’ll take you guys to see Opal first. I know that’ll cheer her up.”

After grabbing their bags out of the car, Bolin walked them into the hospital, and the minute they passed through the doors, Asami’s hand found Korra’s, folding their fingers together. Korra didn’t know if it was for Asami’s own comfort, or if she recognized that Korra needed it. Either way, Korra breathed a little easier because of the gesture.

They walked down a hall, took the elevator, and went down two more halls until they reached the ICU. There were several rooms wrapped around the open floor, with the nurse’s station in the middle. Bolin pointed to a specific one nearby where Opal was located and told them to head inside.

“You’re not coming?” Asami asked.

“Nah. She’ll just yell at me for leaving the baby in the hands of her smothering mother. Just give me a ring whenever you’re ready to come down and see her.” He hugged Asami one last time and put his hand on Korra’s shoulder. “Thank you both again for being here. It means a lot.”

When he left, Asami took a deep breath and slowly walked toward Opal’s room only to stop when she realized Korra wasn’t following.

“Are you okay?” she asked, grabbing Korra and moving them to the side by the wall when she noticed a nurse was trying to wheel a cart around them. A cart with syringes and needles in all too much of a coincidence.

“Yeah,” Korra said, though she couldn’t meet Asami’s eyes, but Asami’s fingers held her by the chin and forced her to look up.

“Is this too much for you?” she asked, glancing around.

“No,” Korra shook her head, trying to keep her brave mask from peeling. “This isn’t about me. Besides, it’s not like this is easy for you either.”

“Different circumstances. I watched my mom die in a hospital, but you almost…” Asami couldn’t bring herself to finish that sentence. Instead, she shook her head and gave Korra an understanding, imploring look. “I’m okay if this is as far as you can go.”

Korra matched the intensity in Asami’s gaze with her own faux-confident one. “I’m fine. I _want_ to go… But do you think Opal would even want to meet anyone new right now if she’s so indisposed?”

“She’s been begging me for months to bring you with me for this. Even though it’s not the way any of us imagined it would be, Bolin’s right that at a time like this she needs a reason to smile.”

Korra nodded, took a deep breath in, and pulled herself together. They were there in support of someone else, for a joyous occasion of successfully bringing a new life into the world. Her irrational fear could afford to be shoved down for just these few hours or however long they planned to stay.

She must’ve still seemed hesitant, because then Asami leaned closer to whisper something.

“If at any point you need to step out, you can. I’ll understand. But just know we’re in this together, okay?”

Korra grabbed the fingers still under her chin and squeezed them. “Okay.”

Asami smiled weakly. Hand in hand, they walked up to Opal’s room, the white board on the side of the sliding door with “BEIFONG” written on it. Asami entered first, followed by Korra.

It was a typical room in the ICU that smelled of sanitation and newly powered machines. The TV was on, playing one of those silly American competition shows on mute, and every few seconds one or two machines would beep.

Korra didn’t walk too far into the room and stopped just a couple feet shy of the bed while Asami pulled up a chair on the other side to sit beside her sleeping friend.

Opal was propped up in the bed, eyes closed, and head tilted to the side in an uncomfortable looking position. Her short brown hair fell over her face and Asami fixed it for her, but then Opal stirred and opened her eyes a few seconds later, revealing a deep shade of green.

“‘Sami?” Opal questioned, her voice drenched in sleepiness.

“Hey, yeah, it’s me,” Asami said, taking Opal’s hand in hers. “I’m here for however long you need me. You know you gave me one hell of a scare, right?”

A small smile formed on the young woman’s face. “I just missed you so much that inducing labor was my best chance of getting you here.”

“I think you could’ve taken fewer extreme measures than that. There’s this crazy new thing in the world that’s called a mobile device. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

“Sounds vaguely familiar. Are they sold in corner stores?”

Korra smiled, hearing their small banter. It wasn’t her first time seeing Opal, in fact they’d spoken a couple of times whenever she and Asami would video chat. But even with just those few interactions, Korra already felt like she knew so much about Opal. Asami always told her stories about their journey to friendship, and the amount of support Opal gave to her during her father’s trial and well after his sentencing. She provided a lot of relief and humor to Asami’s crazy, stressful life. For that, Korra felt like she owed her something. More than just being there for Asami, Korra wanted to be there for Opal, too.

“How are you feeling?” Asami asked.

“Well, my boobs hurt, and a baby just got cut out of me. I’m worried that my bikini body's forever ruined,” Opal joked.

Asami squeezed her best friend’s hand and kept her expression serious. “Opal…” she said knowingly.

Opal shifted in bed and looked down for several seconds, a solemn expression cracking through the forced humor. Eventually her face scrunched up as she tried to refrain from tearing up.

“I haven’t even held her yet,” Opal admitted. “I don’t know what she looks like, how much of me she has in her… how much Bolin she has in her. Everyone keeps trying to shove photos in my face, but I can’t even look at them. It’s not the same. She _needs_ me, Asami. My baby needs me. We don’t even have a name for her yet!”

“I know,” Asami spoke soothingly, almost maternal, putting her hand on top of Opal’s head and running her fingers through her roots. “But the first thing you need to do is get better _for_ her. I’m sure that’s the last thing you want to hear right now, but Bolin said you could be moved to a recovery room soon. Just hang on a little longer.”

“I’m trying, but when everyone else has seen your own daughter except you, it can really mess with your head.”

“We haven’t seen her yet,” Asami said. “In fact, we won’t see her until you finally see her. That’s a promise.”

“We?” Opal asked slowly, confused, and then she followed Asami’s gaze to finally notice Korra standing there. “Oh!” Opal jumped, then immediately winced from the reaction.

“Are you all right?” Korra stepped forward in concern.

“Yes, I’m fine. You just surprised me.” Opal stared up at her with eyes so wide that her brows shot up to her forehead. The grief in her eyes mere seconds ago disappeared from her expression. 

“You’re staring,” Korra said.

“Y-yes, sorry. I just… Wow. You’re here. You’re her.”

Korra smiled as she took the final steps toward the bed. “Indeed. I am me.”

“Oh gosh, excuse me for sounding like a nutcase just then,” Opal put her hands up to her flushing cheeks and wiping away any leftover tears. “That is not the first impression I’d want someone to have of me.”

“You just had a baby physically removed from the womb. Anything you say right now shouldn’t be held against you. Besides, your feelings are real and valid.” Korra placed her hands on Opal’s arm lightly and smiled down at her. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Opal. I'm glad you're all right.”

Opal looked so amazed by her every word and even started smiling herself, then she looked at Asami, who was also smiling at Korra with pride.

“Is this really happening?” Opal asked. “Did you really bring her here for me?”

“Actually, she wanted to come,” Asami told her. “I didn’t even have to ask. We both wanted to be here with you.”

Opal looked to Korra again, this time happy tears in her eyes. “That means more to me than you’ll ever know. Thank you.” She removed her arm from Korra’s hold and reached for her hand instead.

Korra smiled back. “You’re welcome.”

“I guess Asami really did find the Westley to her Buttercup after all.”

Korra lifted a brow and looked over at Asami, noticing how fast her cheeks reddened.

“She wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” Asami said.

“Oh, that’s right I wasn’t,” Opal covered her mouth with her fingers. “Excuse me. I’m on a lot of drugs and my emotions are all over the place at the moment. I don’t know what I’m saying.”

“Mhm. On second thought, maybe we _should_ start holding things against you,” Korra said teasingly, satisfied at getting a laugh out of Opal. It made her feel useful at a time like this where the emotions were so high. Worrying about someone else’s well-being made her forget the foreboding smell of death, the IV stuck into Opal’s arm, and the beeping machines. It all fell into the background as the conversation continued. She could feel Asami watching them both (Korra mostly) and practically beaming the entire time.

This was what it was supposed to be about: the pleasure and joy she could bring to someone else who needed help in the moment far more than she did. If she remembered that fact, then maybe this trip wouldn’t be so bad after all.


	2. bad blood

Korra grabbed a soda and some water out of the vending machine along with her leftover change. After thirty minutes of chatting and lifting Opal’s spirits, she wanted to get out of the room for a bit so that Opal and Asami could chat privately.

As much as they tried to take her mind off of the heavy stuff for a while, Korra noticed how any talk of the baby, or the way a nurse would pop in to give updates, would cause Opal’s eyes to shine a little bit less. Korra couldn’t imagine what it was like to be a new mother having to go through such trying times. From giving a traumatic birth, and then not even being able to see that human being you brought into the world… It must’ve been a nightmare. And Korra wanted Opal to be able to express that to her best friend without the thought of needing to conduct herself properly in Korra’s presence.

She took her time making it back to the room, retracing her steps because the hospital reminded her so much of a maze. For some reason it also brought on an onslaught of images with only a thread of connection. Wandering around in a hospital, her mind only half there, the blur of a doctor’s face, then a flash of several above her, Kuvira’s concerned expression…

Those thoughts distracted her, causing her to run right into someone heading in the same direction as her when she turned the corner to reach the ICU.

“Excuse—” she started and then looked up at the person, but as her vision cleared and she got a good look at them, her eyes voluntarily narrowed, “—you.”

Mako stood there with his hands in his pockets, wearing a tired expression that quickly turned from mild annoyance to full-blown irritation at the sight of her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, though he didn’t seem too surprised at seeing her.

“I’m on my way from the vending machine, obviously.” Korra held up her two drinks as evidence.

Mako rolled his eyes. “Where’s Asami?”

“With Opal, not that it's in any real thanks to you.”

Mako tried to side-step her, but she was quicker.

“What are you doing? Get out of my way,” he said hotly.

“You really think Asami wants to see you right now after what you did?”

“What _I_ did?” His eyes comically widened, and he looked at Korra as if he were questioning her sanity.

“Come on. How long did you have between finding out about Opal and catching your flight the other day to at least give her a heads up? You have no idea the amount of distress you’ve put her in for the past 24 hours.”

“I told her when I could,” Mako said, his voice raising ever so slightly. “You act as if I did this on purpose. But, hell, if I knew she was going to bring you along, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all. And again, why are you here exactly?”

“Last time I checked I wasn’t the one owing anybody explanations.”

“And last time _I_ checked you weren’t a part of this family.”

Korra glared, her temper flaring, but she knew that taking the bait was probably what he wanted.

“Your brother just had a baby, your sister-in-law is in the ICU for giving a very complicated, life-threatening birth, and your best friend—if you can even call her that anymore—is pissed at you for very valid reasons. The least of your worries should be about why I’m here.”

“I don’t need a patronizing lecture from you,” Mako warned, his face showing a tint of red. “Especially about matters concerning _my_ family.”

“Then how about a lecture from me?”

Korra glanced over and her heart stopped at the sight of a rage fueled Asami, her steely eyes piercing and posture rigid as she strutted toward them.

Mako sighed. “Asami, look—”

Before Mako could get another word out, he was shoved so hard that Korra winced at the sound of the impact.

“You _asshole_!” Asami said through gritted teeth. “How could you do this to me? _Two_ days, Mako? Are you kidding me?”

After regaining his footing, Mako looked up. He stared at them both, unsure of who to be more pissed off at, until he finally set his attention back on Asami.

“No one knew what was going on, and Bolin was freaking out when he called me. I didn’t have time to loop you in.”

“Didn’t have time?” Asami repeated, an incredulous look on her face, and then she shoved him harder. “Do you even hear yourself? That’s my best friend in that room right now! You make time.” Her voice raised, causing a couple of nurses at the station to look in their direction. “You should count your lucky stars that nothing worse came out of this.”

“You can’t even try to see this from my point of view, can you?” Mako said. “If my brother needs me, I’m going to him without any other thought in my mind, because that’s what family is about.”

The crestfallen expression on Asami’s face at those thoughtless words stabbed Korra in her chest.

“Wow. I guess after all of these years and your talk about how I’m part of this family the truth comes out, huh?” she asked.

“You were a part of it, but don’t try to pretend that since you’ve been with her things haven’t changed.” Mako pointed at Korra. “And don’t think Bolin doesn’t feel that, too.”

“Don’t you _dare_ blame her for this,” Asami said, stepping toward him in outrage before Korra even thought to give a reply. “She’s not the one who’s punishing me because of pettiness.”

“Oh, is that what we’re calling it now?” Mako said, giving a humorless laugh, but then something dark twisted on his face as he leaned toward them, lowering his voice. “And speaking of that: How was your fundraiser event? Did you run into any more black market guys you needed to impress?”

Asami lunged at him again, but this time Korra caught her fast enough by the arms (made difficult by the two drinks in her hands), restraining her from moving any further.

“Excuse me? Do we need to call security?” a nurse asked, but Mako waved them off, collecting himself and waiting for Asami to do the same. But that never happened.

“We are _done_ after this.” Asami’s voice shook, angry and frustrated tears filling her eyes as she stared at her former friend.

Korra glanced over at Mako, noticing his hardened expression soften for only a brief second, and in one blink, it was gone.

“Fine with me,” he said, finality etched in his tone.

Asami pulled herself out of Korra’s arms, then practically sprinted down the hall.

Korra quickly followed after, but not before mustering up the dirtiest look and shoving her two drinks in Mako's chest, forcing him to take them.

Asami made it all the way down the hall and turned a corner by the time Korra caught up to her.

“Hey, hey.” Korra stopped her by the arm. Asami didn’t turn around immediately and wiped her eyes.

“Sorry,” she said.

“Don’t apologize. He was way out of line, and if you want me to go back there and kick his ass to kingdom come, I will.”

“No…” Asami shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m done. He and I are done. I’m not going to keep feeling guilty about this anymore. I’m not proud of what I did, but it’s over now and time to move on. If it’s without him in my life, then that’s fine.”

Korra nodded. She knew Asami meant those words in the moment, but she couldn’t help but compare them to similar proclamations made with the same amount of certainty only to end up being disregarded after a few days.

Asami hated losing people because it made her feel like a failure. She would always blame herself for it happening, too. It happened with her mom, her dad… Korra. She would assume that mantle of responsibility even if it wasn’t her mantle to upkeep. And despite her anger at Mako right now, eventually she’d begin to feel that guilt all over again.

“Hey, guys.”

Korra looked over Asami’s shoulder and saw Bolin walking up to them. Asami quickly wiped away any evidence of her tears and turned around as well.

“Everything all right?” Asami asked, her voice leveled.

“Yeah, I was on my way here with Mako, but I...” Bolin stopped when he noticed that something wasn’t right. “Is everything all right with _you_?”

“Yup, we’re fine,” Korra said, gaining his attention so that Asami could continue to gather herself. “What’s up?”

“I figured you guys could use a ride back to the house. Opal's mom is going to stay for a little while longer. I need to get home and feed Pabu, plus I want to get a bag packed for Opal and the baby. She’s so small, though. I doubt she’ll fit into any of the onesies we bought.”

“Wait, they’re going home now?” Asami asked.

“Not yet. But I just spoke with both Opal’s doctor and they said she’s officially moving to the recovery wing tomorrow. Her fever’s gone down, so now they just want to see how well the baby feeds with Opal first and check for any underlying issues.”

“That’s wonderful, Bo,” Asami said. Any sadness or anger that remained from her and Mako’s exchange dissolved from her face. “But you don’t have to worry about us. We can get a hotel.”

“Nonsense. There’s plenty of room in the house for everyone.” Bolin wrapped his arms around both Korra's and Asami’s shoulders and began to lead them back in the direction of Opal’s room. “I’m sure Opal would like the company anyway for a few days once she gets out.”

Korra and Asami shared a glance. They couldn’t very well say no to a man who just went through a scary experience with his wife and newborn baby, could they? Even if it meant sharing space with his douche of an older brother?

 _‘Sorry,’_ Asami mouthed to Korra, as if they were psychically linked. She had tiredness in her eyes, which made Korra think that not having to worry about hotel arrangements would be a good thing.

If anything, this would certainly be an interesting next couple of days.

* * *

The car ride did nothing to ease the tension, in Korra’s opinion.

After saying goodnight to Opal (whose mood changed drastically after Bolin revealed she’d be moved and able to see the baby soon), Korra and Asami were led out of the hospital by Bolin, with Mako following behind in dead, bitter silence.

Bolin talked the most, sharing his excitement and happiness about the wonderful outcome of his family’s situation. To both their credit, Asami and Mako made the best out of being in the same car together, laughing and conversing with Bolin but not with each other. Korra just sat there, looking out the window, her hand on Asami’s knee. She knew out of all of them her contribution would sound the most forced.

The car ride lasted 20 achingly long minutes, give or take. Korra noticed they passed through the city of Chadron, which reminded her more or less of a scene coming right out of an old country western. Once they got past it, they headed up a hill and into a woodsy area. Korra didn’t understand how Bolin could see through the thick darkness, or how they didn’t run into a deer already. After they turned a sharp corner and headed straight for another minute, they came to a clearing and, a few yards back, Korra could see a house. It was too dark to get a good showing of it, but the outside appeared to be made out of all wood.

Bolin pulled into the long driveway, the tires rolling smoothly into the loose gravel, and stopped. When they all got out, Korra, Asami, and Bolin went to grab the bags out of the trunk.

“Nice house,” Korra told Bolin as she gave it another look. It didn’t look super outlandish, but she could see why Bolin didn’t hesitate to offer up his home. There appeared to be a lot of space.

“Thanks. I sort of helped build it,” Bolin said, sarcastically dusting off his shoulder.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Opal’s dad is an architect and he helped us out a ton when we decided to move here. Depending on whichever room you stay in, you’ll see his and my mother-in-law’s house from here. It’s ridiculous.”

“Bo,” called Mako, who’d already walked to the front door and away from the rest of them, seemingly impatient to get inside.

“Right, sorry,” Bolin apologized, but then he quickly turned back to them to give a dramatic eye roll at the expense of his brother. He walked away after that, politely taking their suitcases with him as he did.

“Maybe if we pick the furthest room away it’ll be like he doesn’t exist at all,” Asami said as they slowly treaded toward the house.

“You played your disdain off really well in the car,” Korra replied.

“It wasn’t too obvious?”

“Bolin doesn’t seem aware of it.”

“Bolin’s a lot like you. He notices but doesn’t say anything unless asked for an opinion. Also, he’s got bigger things on his plate than to play buffer between myself and Mako.”

“How long do you want to stay for?”

“Just until Opal gets home and settled. Three to four days tops? Is that okay?”

“I’ll have to talk to my supervisor at work, but he’s pretty chill so it shouldn’t be a problem. My clients may be pissed, but they already know what they’re supposed to be doing this week anyway.”

Asami grabbed Korra’s arm and stopped her just before they reached the open door. The sounds of crickets, frogs, and owls were loud around them from the tall trees nearby and yards of grass surrounding them.

“Thank you,” Asami spoke quietly. “I don’t think I’ve said that yet, which is so crazy because of everything you’ve put up with in the past day.”

“You don’t need to thank me. This is what I’m supposed to do.”

Asami gave a tired, half-amused smile. “Have you been reading the 'How to Be the Most Amazing Girlfriend in the World' manual?”

“I keep it tucked away in my back pocket on all occasions. It's quite the extensive read,” Korra said dryly.

Asami snorted. “I’ll have to borrow it off you sometime then.”

Bolin appeared in the doorway, looking surprised to see them still outside.

“Coming in any time soon?”

“We were just admiring the outside of your beautiful home for a little while longer,” Asami said and stepped inside, with Korra following after.

“I put your suitcases upstairs in the room on the left. Feel free to move wherever you want, though.”

“Thanks, Bo.”

“Make yourselves at home. There’s leftover food in the fridge. I’m going to pack Opal and the baby’s bags and then head back down to the hospital.”

“I’m sure Opal wouldn’t mind if you took a break,” Asami said, sounding concerned. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I’ll be fine once my girls are home with me,” Bolin said, giving Asami a pat on the shoulder in a reassuring manner. “I’m fine. You guys go get cleaned up and eat something. Korra, I’ll give you a proper tour of the place tomorrow.”

“Sure. That would be nice,” Korra said in surprise.

When he left, Asami watched him until he was out of sight.

“Something’s different about him,” she mused out loud. “More mature.”

“I guess it’s true that parenthood changes you immediately after the baby pops out,” Korra said.

“I didn’t think it would happen that fast. Sometimes I still see him as the 16-year-old kid who’d constantly beg me to take him to the GameStop across the city every other weekend.”

Korra nodded in understanding, reminded of how she felt earlier upon seeing him. Bolin’s friendliness remained, but that extreme level of foolhardy goofiness subsided. Asami always said that Opal was the perfect person to come along and level him out, and Korra could see that now.

Asami suddenly yawned, bringing Korra’s attention back to her.

“We should do as he suggested and get cleaned up, then head to bed.”

“You’re right,” Asami said. She led them through the foyer and toward the staircase, giving Korra a better glimpse inside the house, but she felt too tired to really give it a second look. As they began to ascend the stairs, however, from the corner of Korra’s eye, she saw a reddish-brown blur dashing through the house and headed straight for them.

Shrieking, she grabbed Asami by the arm.

“What the hell is that?” she squeaked.

Asami quickly turned around, assessing the issue, and then let out a laugh.

“Pabu!”

The little squirrel raccoon looking thing pounced off its legs and jumped onto the railing, scurrying up to them and stopping in its tracks. It stared at them both for a moment, head tilted and nose sniffing around. When Asami held her arm out, the creature looked at her for several more seconds and then hopped onto her offered limb. Asami immediately began to pet it.

“This is Bolin’s ferret,” Asami explained. “His name is Pabu and he’s super friendly and harmless.”

“A ferret as a pet? How bizarre.”

“Yeah, I thought so, too. Bolin was randomly searching for pets online one day and found him. I can’t say it’s not in line with something he’d do. Opal took forever to agree to it, though. Go on. Pet him.”

Korra cautiously held out her hand and the ferret curiously leaned forward to sniff it with its black, round nose. Dark ears with white tips perked up and the animal gazed up at her, silently searching as if it were judging her character. It surprised Korra again by jumping out of Asami’s arms and onto her shoulder.

Asami smiled at the scene. “See? He likes you.”

“He just better not use my shoulder as a tree if you know what I mean.”

Asami just laughed and started up the staircase again. There was a large family room and three spare bedrooms upstairs on opposite sides, including one bathroom. Asami led them to the one that was the furthest from the staircase. One of the other rooms on the opposite side of theirs, Korra guessed, was already occupied by Mako.

Pabu leapt off her shoulder before they entered their room and headed back downstairs, most likely heading back to his owner. The room they entered was average sized, with a queen bed in the middle. They were facing the backyard, and through the large window, they could see mountainous trees all around them, as if they were in a real forest.

“Is that Opal’s parent’s house?” Korra pointed over by where, through a lining of trees, she could just barely see the place. The lights being on was the only thing that gave it away.

“Yup. It’s huge, isn’t it?” Asami said as she began unpacking their clothes.

“Mhm.” Korra could see what Bolin meant by “ridiculous.” The place looked like it could be one she saw saved on Asami’s Pinterest account. She could even see a fountain placed out front. “Where’s the ranch?”

“Just a few miles up the road. We can take a hike down there tomorrow if you want.”

Korra nodded and walked over to Asami, stopping her from unpacking any further.

“Shower?” she asked simply.

Asami sighed and let a shirt drop out of her hands.

“Yes, please,” she said.

“Get undressed. I’ll start yours up.” Korra started to turn.

Asami caught her by the shoulder and forced her to turn back around. There was a pleading look in her eyes.

“With me?” she asked.

Korra smiled. She couldn’t say no even if she wanted to.

“So needy,” she said teasingly, though she gave a loving gesture by sliding her hand down Asami’s face. “But I’ll allow it.”

They unpacked the rest of their stuff and then grabbed what they needed before heading to the unoccupied bathroom. Korra turned on the shower, making sure it wasn’t too hot and they both stripped out of their clothes. She stepped in first, and Asami followed after securing her hair up in a bun. For those couple of minutes, they washed each other, let the other rinse off, and then eventually Asami leaned forward, placing her forehead on Korra’s shoulder.

“M’so tired,” she mumbled against Korra’s skin.

Korra rubbed her girlfriend’s sides. It was bound to happen sooner or later that the lack of sleep would catch up to her, but luckily Korra was there to brace her inevitable fall.

After they finished cleaning up and getting dressed for bed, Bolin stopped by the room to inform them that he’d be leaving. It left the two of them alone in their room while Mako was apparently down in Bolin’s ‘designated man-cave.’

Korra got into bed first and checked her phone. She’d been texting back and forth with Kuvira the whole day, letting her know what was happening and to also ease some of the anxiety she'd been feeling. Even though it was late, Korra knew her friend would be awake since both she and Jargala had matches scheduled that night. They both won apparently, given the photo Kuvira sent of the two of them with Ginger posing in a mirror at some club with shot glasses in their hands, which had to be their fourth or fifth round at that point given the shakiness of the photo and Jargala’s obscene pose. Oh, how Korra missed those after parties.

At the same time, she got another text.

 _Did you watch??!_ Kuvira asked.

 _Not yet,_ Korra texted back. _Been too preoccupied. Almost had to referee a fight myself actually._

_Ooh. Did Asami finally go crazy on the ex-bf we don't like?_

Korra chuckled at her drunken friend’s inclusive “we” in that statement.

_Spot on. Idk how, but he's even more unbearable than ever before._

_Ginger’s sitting next to me. She said to sneak a pic so we can make a meme out of him in the group chat._

Laughing, Korra shook her head at the thought. Deciding to give the video she’d been sent a watch while Asami finished up in the bathroom, Korra pulled out her headphones and put them on before pressing play. Lately, Kuvira had been getting someone to sneak record her fights for Korra’s eyes only. It was a reckless move, but for some reason Korra had a feeling Varrick knew about it and didn’t care. Just to be safe, however, Korra always made sure to scrub the videos from her phone after watching.

The crowd looked so electric as Kuvira bounced along the ring with her opponent—an Agni Kai by the looks of it—trading jabs, some leg swipes, and attempted choke holds. As usual, it was only a matter of time before Kuvira began to dominate and sent the woman tumbling down after three solid punches to the face, the very last one being at the side of the woman’s head and causing her face to distort as the boxing glove collided with her cheek. After the opponent crumbled to the ground, the crowd roared and applauded as Kuvira’s arm was raised in victory by the referee.

“Did Kuvira send you another video?” Korra heard and looked up to find Asami walking into the room and shutting the door.

Korra removed her headphones and put her phone aside. “Yup. She won. Jargala did, too.”

“Jargala’s been winning a lot since you started training her,” Asami commented.

“If by a lot, you mean all her matches, then yeah,” Korra said smugly. Jargala’s skills, while not horrendous, certainly needed a fine tune up. Korra couldn’t train her as much as she'd been trained by Kuvira, but that just meant no time went to waste, and the improvements showed dramatically in only the first two weeks.

“I’m sure she’s very happy that she’s had you to teach her some stuff,” Asami said. She went to turn off the main light, which only left the lamp from Korra’s side of the bed turned on. When Asami slid into the sheets, she immediately curled into Korra’s side, yawning as she did.

“You’re going to sleep in tomorrow,” Korra said.

Asami hummed. “Bet you I won’t. I never sleep in.”

“You’d be wise to never bet against me, Sato.”

Asami rose up on her side, her face serious now as she stared at Korra.

“How are you feeling? I know how much of a brave face you’ve been putting on for me.”

“Fine,” Korra said. “That stuff is always going to be in the back of my mind while I’m in a hospital, but I managed to tune it out for the most part.”

“What about it freaks you out the most?” Asami asked. “For me, it’s all of the machines and seeing them hooked up to just one person.”

“All of it, I guess,” Korra said, knowing that it wasn’t much of an answer and added, “it just heightens all of my senses, you know?”

Asami nodded, though she had a look in her eyes that told Korra she knew there was definitely more to it than that but didn’t want to push it.

“Whatever the reason, you’ve been my rock. You always are, but you didn’t have to come here with me. Yet here you are.”

“I wasn’t lying the other night when I told you I always want to be by your side,” Korra said, then she gave a teasing look. “After all, that’s what Westley would do, right?”

Asami rolled her eyes, but it didn’t hide her embarrassment.

“You know that’s one of my all-time favorite chick flicks. Don’t tease me.”

Korra smiled and beckoned Asami’s face closer, so close that their lips just barely brushed.

“As you wish,” Korra whispered, smiling when she felt Asami’s body shiver against hers. Their lips brushed again, purposely that time, and Korra swiped her tongue against Asami’s bottom lip out of a poor lack of self-control.

Asami didn’t seem to mind, as she opened her mouth and sucked on Korra’s tongue before firmly attaching their lips. Korra let out a quiet moan and forced herself to pull back, but that only led to Asami kissing and sucking on her neck instead.

“Don’t start something you know we can’t finish,” Korra said, sounding out of breath. When Asami sucked extra hard on a sensitive area, she let out a hissing noise.

“Who says I can’t finish it?” Asami said against Korra’s jugular. “I haven’t forgotten that you still owe me from the other night.”

Korra shivered that time, licking her lips at the memory still fresh in her mind. It was tempting… way too tempting.

Grabbing Asami by the shoulders, Korra turned them so that she now had her girlfriend pinned to the mattress. Asami looked up at her, surprised, tired, yet aroused.

“You’re a seductress, you know that?” Korra told her.

Asami only smiled and wrapped her leg around Korra’s waist, forcing her body to come into full contact with hers. Then she roped her arms around Korra’s neck and pulled her close to her chest.

“I know,” she said, yawning for the second time.

“We really should get some sleep,” Korra said, trying to remove herself to turn off the light on her side, but she found herself struggling to get out of the strong hold. “Asami?”

“Just stay like this with me for a while,” Asami said, her chest slowly rising and falling. “I feel like I don’t get to hold you enough.”

Korra instantly relaxed against her fully, closing her eyes. Asami was warm, her intoxicating scent filling Korra’s nose. They quieted and, for a while, it felt like it was only the two of them, not just in that house, but in the world. She was okay with that.

“We’re going to get through this, okay?” she said, putting her hand against Asami’s abdomen. She could tell the other woman was beginning to fall asleep, but then she felt Asami’s face turn into the top of her head, and she whispered something so soft that it could have blended into the wind and through the dancing trees outside the window, a permanent stain in the air.

“Just as long as you’re with me.”


	3. Against All Odds

The next morning, Korra woke up to birds and the sun in her eyes. They forgot to shut the curtains apparently. Grabbing her phone off the desk, she saw that it was already five minutes ‘til ten. Looking over, she noticed Asami was still out cold and smirked. So much for her not sleeping in.

Still, she had no idea what their schedule would look like for the day, but she knew how much Asami would hate it if she missed an entire morning due to sleep, even when she desperately needed it.

Korra slid up behind her girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her.

“Hey,” she spoke into Asami’s ear, shaking her as she did. When she only received a hum as a response, she chuckled. “It’s already pretty late in the day. Time to wake up.”

Asami groaned, grumbling something indecipherable and nuzzled into the pillow. “Ten more minutes.”

Smiling to herself, Korra placed a kiss on the back of Asami’s neck.

“Fine. Ten more minutes. Also, I told you not to bet against me.”

She got out of bed, grabbing her night shorts off her suitcase and pulling them on. The room drew in a lot of heat without the window open, it appeared. Korra closed the blinds slightly and cracked the window with the hope that a breeze would come through.

Walking across the room, she opened the door, poking her head out and looking around. The house sounded as quiet as it was last night. After grabbing her toothbrush and face wash, she headed to the bathroom to do her morning rituals. Following that, she decided to go downstairs to the kitchen and get some coffee, which would surely wake Asami up fully once a whiff of it hit her nose.

When she made it down to the kitchen, she found Mako sitting there at the table eating his breakfast while watching the news from the large television in the living room. He only sent her a glance before going back to acting like he was the only person in the room.

Korra ignored him just as well, striding over to the coffee pot. A pot had already been made, but it didn’t look fresh anymore. She made sure she knew how the machine worked, taking the time to look things over before just randomly pressing buttons. Once she figured it out, she successfully began to reheat the coffee.

“Did you know Opal’s aunt is a former district attorney of New York?”

Korra stiffened the minute she heard the first word leave Mako’s mouth. Slowly, she turned to him, however Mako still had his eyes glued on the television.

“Cool?” Korra responded back, unsure of the point Mako was trying to make.

“At one point a few years ago she was everyone’s number one pick to become Attorney General of New York, but she turned it down. She actually helped me get my job there at the police department and recommended I be moved up in the ranks as a detective so early on in my career.”

“I’m missing the point where I’m supposed to care about any of this.”

Mako lowered the volume on the TV and finally spared her a look.

“I say all of that because if it’s one person you can’t get anything past, it’s Lin Beifong. You’d be wise to keep your distance.”

Korra scoffed. “Is this your polite way of telling me to sit still and keep my mouth shut?”

“The word polite makes it sound like I’m doing you a favor. I’m not.”

“Then what exactly are you doing?” Korra asked, her frustration growing. It was way too early for this. “Because as far as I’m concerned, I don’t need anything from you.”

“You may not care about the mess you leave behind in your path, but I’m covering my own ass here. It’s very obvious to me that Asami’s protecting you over something big that leads back to Raiko’s arrest and her getting involved with a guy from the black market. Do you guys really think I’m stupid?”

Korra bit back the chance to say something witty and turned back to the brewing coffee. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, of course you don’t,” Mako chipped. Korra heard him get up from the table and put his dishes in the sink adjacent from where she stood. “You might want to work on your lying skills a bit. I can see where Asami gets it from.”

Korra crossed the kitchen so fast she barely felt herself move. Grabbing Mako by the shoulder, she forced him to turn around. He didn’t even flinch when he saw her standing right in his face.

“If you want to take shots at me the whole time I’m here, fine. If you want to act like a little _bitch_ because I’m here, that’s more than fine. But leave Asami out of it. You’ve made your point that you’re disappointed in her, but I’m not going to watch her beat herself up anymore over you. She doesn’t deserve it. And if you were ever really her friend, you’d know that.”

“So I’m supposed to be taking lessons from you now?” Mako said, pointing at her with a bemused expression on his face. “Korra, A.K.A. the girl who wrote the book on hurting her the most where it counts? Give me a break.”

Korra’s eyes saw red. She gripped the front of Mako’s t-shirt, prepared to kick the living shit out of him. The sound of the front door opening stopped her.

She moved away and went back over to the coffee pot, making it just in time as Bolin walked in.

“Good morning,” he said, whistling. Both Mako and Korra gave quieter and subdued responses back. Pabu, who’d been absent before, came scurrying into the kitchen as well and climbed up Bolin’s leg as if he were a human tree to reach his shoulder. Bolin just laughed and scratched his companion’s head. “Morning to you, too, buddy. Did you keep the peace in the house? I see the walls haven’t fallen down.”

“I’ve been fine,” Mako said, and directed an accusatory look toward Korra.

“So have I,” Korra said, turning to Bolin and plastering on a smile. The coffee machine beeped behind her and she walked over to the cabinet near Mako’s head, not bothering to give him any warning as she opened it, forcing him to move aside. She grabbed two mugs and went to pour the coffee, mixing the sugar and cream in well.

“Well that’s good to hear, because Opal’s coming home tomorrow and I wouldn’t want her walking into World War 3.”

“She’s coming home officially?” Mako said, sounding surprised.

“Yup. Baby, too. They’re both doing really good. The doctor wants Opal to stay off her feet as much as possible for the next week, but she’s going to be just fine.”

“That’s awesome, bro.” Mako walked out of the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his brother.

Feeling like an intruder for the first time, Korra decided to make herself scarce and go tell Asami the good news, but not before offering her own congratulations as she passed the hugging brothers.

“Oh hey, Korra,” Bolin called after her, letting go of Mako. “You guys can come up with me later to see Opal and the baby if you want. Heck, maybe you guys can even help us put an end to our debate on names.”

Korra smiled back at him. “I think Asami would like that.”

“Thanks again for being here,” Bolin said, walking up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. Pabu, who circled himself around Bolin’s neck, looked between them lazily.

“It’s no big deal,” Korra insisted.

“No, it really is. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a part of this big, crazy family of ours from now on.”

Korra glanced over Bolin’s shoulder and saw Mako roll his eyes.

“Thanks,” she said politely and pulled back. “I’ll go wake Asami and tell her the news.”

She left the room, releasing a heavy breath as she did.

How could Bolin say that in such an assured and confident manner? He didn’t know her, her story, where she’d been, or the things that she’d done. In fact, with a brother like Mako, she wondered if Bolin would look at her differently if he knew the truth. A large part of her knew that wasn’t the case; that Bolin would understand and be supportive, but that part of her that always doubted others sincerity and blocked off everyone with the exception of a few people told her not to get too carried away. She knew she wasn’t the ideal girl you took home to your parents or friends. Even at the fundraiser event the other day, although people were friendly, she still received those confused looks from people, wondering why the hell Asami was with her. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things because in the end it only mattered what Asami thought about her, but it still gave her a brief moment of pause.

People like Mako would always judge her and hold her past mistakes against her. Even if she felt like she needed to defend herself, there would be no point. However, she couldn’t deny that his take on her and Asami’s relationship didn’t sting, because they were thoughts she found herself having so many times before.

She knew how many times she fucked up in the past, made Asami cry, and caused so much hurt to them both out of a need to keep her walls up. And even though she promised Asami (as well as herself) that it would never happen again, could she really trust herself to keep that promise?

She made it back up to the room and found Asami still sound asleep. Placing the coffees on the nightstand, she sat down on the edge of the bed beside her sleeping girlfriend. With the gentle swipe of her knuckles against a soft pale cheek, Asami stirred awake.

“Is that coffee?” she groggily asked, one jade green eye opening before the other.

“It’s like a mating call for you,” Korra said.

Asami turned on her back and brushed the hair out of her face, keeping her hand on her forehead as she tried to get accustomed to the setting and brightness in the room. When she looked up at Korra, she took a moment to just stare, her brows furrowing after a minute.

“Everything okay?” she asked, touching Korra’s arm.

Korra didn’t realize how much she’d been frowning and immediately corrected it.

“Yeah, I have good news, actually. Bolin said Opal and the baby are cleared to come home tomorrow.”

A large smile broke across Asami’s face and she sat up using her elbows. “Really?”

“Yeah. He said we can go up there later with him to the hospital and see them if you want.”

“Totally. Oh my gosh, this is so good!” Asami laughed and pulled Korra in for a hug.

“I said they’d be okay, didn’t I?” Korra said, smiling a little.

“Yes, you did. You always know the right thing to say.”

Korra closed her eyes, hugging Asami back just as tight, if not more. Mako’s words didn’t completely disappear from her mind, but the self-doubt lessened, and all she wanted to think about was making the woman in her arms as happy as she was right now for the rest of her life. If she couldn’t trust herself, she could trust _this_. Mako had no idea what they shared, their connection, or how Korra’s love ran so deep and unconditionally that she questioned the logistics of it.

No one else needed to understand it either, and Korra didn’t want them to. People betted against her before and she proved them wrong. With this, she was more than ready to take it all the way to the bank.

* * *

After having a delayed start, Asami finally got out of bed and ready for the day. Granted, it was already noon, but the much needed rest after spending 24 hours on autopilot left her feeling refreshed. It’d been the first time in a long time that Mako managed to deplete most of her energy, but she was determined not to let that happen again.

She was still pissed and wanted to strangle the man, but she had more important matters to focus on. Her day only got better after finding out he wouldn’t be joining them on their hospital run later. Asami knew whatever the reason he gave was just an excuse to be as far away from her and Korra as possible, but she wouldn’t complain.

In the meanwhile, Bolin needed help on the nursery and assembling the crib, which he’d only just started putting together a day before Opal collapsed. Asami took one look at the scattered pieces on the floor, a mere glance at the instruction manual, and got to work. Bolin and Korra did the heavy lifting while she told them where everything went, tightened screws and made sure everything was straight and leveled. It only took them 20 minutes, and after that they installed a couple of shelves into the walls and set up the changing table.

The entire time they worked, Bolin and Korra seemed to hit it off really well, diving back into old high school memories as they sat there in the middle of the floor after cleaning up.

“Do you remember that one English teacher? Mrs. Fletcher I think her name was,” Bolin asked.

“Oh, I couldn’t stand her,” Korra groaned. “She would write me up for the dumbest of things.”

“Me, too! I remember you and Asami always saying she was the worst. I didn’t think she would be that bad until I had her myself. She wrote me up once because I was ‘squeaking my chair too much.’”

Asami smiled at the sound of Korra’s laughter. It was such a pleasure seeing her get along with her friends despite the bubble she liked to place herself in. Even though she’d been under so much distress yesterday, everything Korra did for her since before they arrived eased Asami’s mind, even if it only lasted for a couple of minutes. She’d never felt more taken care of by anyone; treated with such patience and understanding. The amount of warmth that spread through her chest just thinking about it made her want to do something stupid and crazy, like burst into song.

“So aside from Asami and myself, do you hear from anyone else?” Bolin asked a minute later.

“Not really. Just you guys,” Korra answered. “I was never really a people person, after all.”

“You think? I always just thought you were too cool for everyone else.”

“You’re not alone in that thought,” Asami said, giving Korra a playful nudge.

“What exactly was so cool about me? I don’t get it,” Korra said in denial.

Bolin shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I don’t know. There are people who just exude that coolness factor, and you were the quiet new girl who could intimidate anyone with a single look. I think it’s also why a lot of people were jealous of you.”

Korra laughed. “They had nothing to be jealous of.”

“I think what Bolin’s trying to say is that there were a lot of people who paid attention to you than you were probably aware of. You seemed to have so much confidence in yourself, and the lack of care you had for anyone else’s opinions was really inspiring,” Asami said, emphasizing the word ‘seemed.’ She knew now how much of a low self-esteem Korra really had back then. She also knew that Korra would continue to deny everything Bolin said, still somewhat ankle deep in those insecurities.

“Well, I guess you two were the only ones to take the risk of trying to get to know me,” Korra said.

“But didn’t you have more friends than just Asami and I? I remember you used to be close with that guy Tahno and his group. Although… I don’t know if you’re aware of what happened with him a couple of years ago.”

Asami looked Korra’s way, noticing how her face remained unchanged by Bolin’s now solemn tone, though her posture showed how quickly she was beginning to close off.

Wanting to prevent that, Asami dusted off her shorts and stood up from the floor.

“Bolin, I do believe you promised Korra a tour after we did your bidding,” she said. It was her attempt at pivoting the conversation in a nonchalant manner, but Bolin seemed to realize he neared too close to a taboo topic.

“That’s right, I did.” He got up and offered Korra a hand, which she took. “Obviously this is the baby’s room. Gender neutral themed since Opal and I both agreed not to know the sex...”

Bolin led them around the rest of the house. Korra didn’t need to see most of the second story due to them spending most of their time up there. But the amount of pride behind Bolin’s voice whenever he pointed at something that he helped build or came up with on his own made Asami smile. However, she noticed a lot of new things added to the house that she hadn’t noticed before.

“This place has changed since the last time I was here,” she said as they entered Opal and Bolin’s master bedroom on the first floor. The rustic look and earthy tones were pleasing to look at, as it matched the woodsy area just outside their window.

“It’s been a long time since you’ve been here,” Bolin pointed out.

“Not _that_ long. Only a little over a year.”

Bolin shrugged. “Yeah. I guess with that and not being in touch as much makes it seem longer.”

“What do you mean? We talk all the time,” Asami said.

“Not lately, though. It feels like it’s been once every month. It used to be every other week.”

Asami found herself hesitating to argue against that, knowing very well how measured her interactions with Bolin became. It even made Mako’s comment the other night clearer as well. She was trying her best not to get Bolin involved in their drama, and selflessly, if Mako did feel the need to go to his brother to complain about her, then she would give him that. It would’ve felt cruel if she didn’t at least let Mako have his one and only sound board, regardless of the way she felt about him currently. So she made that decision to limit her and Bolin’s conversations and act as if that were normal. She couldn’t believe it took up until this interaction for her to realize how stupid that decision was, because how _couldn't_ Bolin notice something like that?

Korra, who’d been listening closely to the exchange, cleared her throat. “So, I don’t think you explained why you guys decided to go with so many rooms,” she said.

Bolin looked over at her, then he smiled. “At first it was because we knew Opal’s family would be visiting and coming over a lot, but then we decided on having a big family.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. Opal’s got a big family, so I guess that made her want one as well. As for me… Having only my brother and no parents, growing up was pretty lonely. A bunch of loudmouth kids like myself to fill the house would be really nice, though I know it’s going to be a nightmare for Opal.”

Korra smiled at the explanation, but Asami noticed there seemed to be a twinge of sadness there as well.

“You sound like you have a good future planned out for yourself,” Korra said.

“I know what I want, yeah. Will it turn out the way I always pictured? Probably not. We’ve debated moving to China with Opal’s mom and dad once they finally get bored here. And heck, Opal may not want to have any more kids after this crazy pregnancy. It’s really all up to her.”

Pabu came prancing in, looking as if he’d just woken up from a nap. He hopped up onto the bed and nestled into Bolin’s side as Bolin began to run his fingers through the thick coat of reddish-brown fur.

“What about you guys?” he asked, looking up at them. “I find it hard to believe that Asami of all people doesn’t have a 20 year plan for you guys hidden under one of the floorboards of the apartment by now.”

Asami’s heart leaped, and she felt Korra’s eyes land on her at Bolin’s suggestion.

But by some miracle, Bolin’s phone started ringing, turning his attention away from them. He fished it out of his jeans and looked down at it.

“Actually, I have to take this. It’s a client. Probably asking about when the hell their table will be finished.”

“That’s okay,” Asami said quickly. “I can show Korra around outside.”

“Great. We can head back up to the hospital in an hour or so. That’s when I expect Opal to call and tell me how bored she is. Maybe even less.” He gave them a wink and then answered the phone in a friendly, conversational tone.

They left the bedroom, and as they walked into the hall, Korra grabbed her by the hand, swinging them back and forth.

“So are we off to the ranch then?” she asked.

“You'll see,” Asami sang, laughing when Korra effortlessly twirled her. They went to the door and put their shoes on, still hand in hand, but then the door opened and in came Mako, shirtless and sweaty, as if he’d just come back from a run. He glanced at them both, his eyes landing on Korra for a second longer. Korra glared back in response but said nothing, and after those tense few seconds passed, Mako walked away.

“Okay… That was just weird,” Asami said.

“Forget about it,” Korra said and held the door open for her.

Asami shrugged it off. She already thought about Mako twice today and that was more than enough.

They walked outside where very few clouds littered the sky from their vantage point. Patches of sun crept through the gaps in the trees that blew with the graceful wind. It was the ideal weather for a place like this.

Asami only visited a few times, each of those times being when she just needed a weekend away from New York and the craziness. It was one of her only places of solitude, which was why she would fight extra hard to keep it that way. Therefore, she wanted to stay away from the one person that would only upset her in the duration of the time she spent there.

Once they made it down the long driveway, they headed down the road leading toward Opal’s family’s house.

“So why Nebraska of all places?” Korra asked as they passed some thick trees. “I never took Bolin as the countryside type of guy. Opal too for that matter.”

“Opal's family have moved around a lot over the years, but I believe her parents moved here five years ago to be with her grandmother, who apparently bought like 30 acres of land here in her twenties. Apparently she dreamed of retiring in a place so unusual where no one would think to find her when she got older. She’s a total hermit now and has her own little cabin down the way.”

“That sounds amazing,” Korra said, her eyes brightening.

Asami smiled and nodded, preemptively knowing that Korra would feel that way.

“Anyway, this trail is pretty long. You can even reach the border to South Dakota from here. It’s also an excellent place for horseback riding.”

“And since when have you been a horseback riding person?”

“Opal was a jockey from her teens up until she went to college. I believe she has a ton of medals and trophies packed away somewhere too. She’s taught me a couple of things.”

“Hm. Makes sense. You ride masterfully.”

Asami rolled her eyes and let out a laugh at the same time. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“You did.”

They walked on for a mile and came to Opal’s family’s house that stood tall on a platform of natural rock formations, lodged between trees and bushes as if the house magically grew from the ground itself.

“It looks even bigger when you’re closer,” Korra commented. “And all of Opal’s family lives there?”

“Well, three of Opal’s brothers do, though they’re all in college for most of the year and only come back during the summer. The oldest brother moved out, but I’m unsure of where exactly.”

“This family must be really tight-knit for them to live so close to one another.”

“I’m pretty sure eventually Opal and Bolin will get sick of it and want to move either back to New York or somewhere else. Opal’s mom drives her crazy sometimes, so I highly doubt they’ll move with them to China like Bolin’s hoping. I can see why he wants to go since his parents were from there and he wants his family to know their roots, but I can’t see him wanting to be that far away from his brother.”

“Or you,” Korra said, rubbing her thumb against Asami’s hand.

“Yeah, maybe,” Asami said with a sigh.

They continued their hike for another 20 minutes until they reached a clearing where the woods ended and a field of terrain could be seen. Several horses were out, grazing amongst each other, a wooden fence put up to block them from escaping. The stable and farm were only just a few yards down a hill from them, but instead Asami led them to the fence just to look out at the scenery. The border could be seen from there, the fields and mountains in South Dakota visible.

Korra put one foot on the bottom post of the fence and lifted herself up, overlooking the vast area.

“It’s so peaceful,” she commented, eyes bright as a gentle smile appeared. The blowing wind swept through her loose hair like it wanted to dance with her.

Asami released a breath. Walking over, she folded her arms over the top post and let her chin rest on them.

“What were you thinking earlier?” she asked. When Korra peered down at her with a curious look, Asami explained further. “When Bolin was talking about his plans and stuff.”

Understanding stretched on Korra’s face and she looked back out at the field.

“Just life, I guess. Bolin’s already got his future mapped out and he’s younger than us.”

“Bolin often changes his mind several times in the morning about what pair of socks he wants to wear. I’m sure that plan will change several times seeing as how none of us can predict the future.”

“You don’t know that,” Korra said quietly, stepping off the post. For some reason she couldn’t meet Asami’s eyes. “What if someone could? What if they could tell you things about yourself and knew exactly where you were going to end up?”

“You’re asking hypothetically?”

Korra didn’t respond. She appeared so disjointed about something and Asami’s guess had her heartbeat quickening.

“Do you want a 5 or 10-year plan?” she asked.

“I do,” Korra said decidedly. “But I can’t see that far ahead without having a goal or something that I’m really passionate about career wise. There’s only one thing I’m absolutely positive about, and it’s that I’m going to be with you for the rest of my life.”

Asami’s breath hitched when Korra turned to her, her eyes telling of how certain she was about that statement. She let those words wash over her again and again until it calmed her own blistering thoughts of the future, what she could see, and what she couldn’t.

“I wouldn’t call it a properly formatted 10-year plan, but I definitely know what I want for us,” she said.

“You do?”

“Yes,” Asami said, looking back at Korra, but she still felt the urge to resist those deep pools of blue that never failed to suck her in.

“Feel free to share with the class,” Korra said, jokingly sticking her hands out to show off the horses.

Asami chuckled, though she kept her face lowered. She wasn’t sure if she could say it out loud. A lot of the thoughts she had would come by in fleeting moments. Like whenever she’d walk downstairs in the early hours of the morning before heading to work and found Korra making her breakfast because she knew Asami wouldn’t eat otherwise. Or how she always made sure to place a document Asami would claim to be important in an easily accessible spot and retrieve it, saving Asami the trouble of walking around the apartment aimlessly looking for it because she ended up misplacing it. How she triple checked a restaurant's credentials whenever they went out to make sure it was a well-rated one that Asami wouldn’t get sick from. The thoughtless kisses they’d share just before one of them headed off to work...

But in those fleeting moments, a hundred different images flashed in front of her eyes that had her stomach turning in knots of undisputed excitement.

“I want to tell you, but…”

“What?” Korra asked.

Asami exhaled and finally looked up. “I’m afraid that if I tell you all of these things that it’ll scare you, or you won’t agree, or you’ll get that look in your eyes where you want to run.”

“That won’t happen,” Korra said. She reached forward and grabbed Asami’s hand. “I’m not running from you anymore, and I think the fact that we’re even having this conversation right now proves that. You’re always asking me to trust you, so trust me.”

“I do. You know I do,” Asami said, squeezing her hand. “It’s more like these thoughts are scary even for me. We’ve only been together eight months, after all.”

“Yeah, but we’ve known each other way longer than that,” Korra pointed out and put both hands on the sides of Asami’s neck, forcing their gazes to meet. “We should both feel comfortable expressing these things and future goals to each other.”

Asami nodded and grabbed Korra’s hands, bringing them down. Releasing another deep breath, she gathered her courage.

“I eventually want to hand the reins of Future Industries over to someone else,” she started. “I’d still have full ownership and creative license over the company, but as for all of the day-to-day operations—that wouldn’t be my problem anymore.”

“What would you ever do with all of that freedom?” Korra said with a smile.

“What I’ve always wanted to do. Go into fashion. I was accepted into the New York Fashion Institute once before, so I think I could do it again. Obviously I’d need to dust off the sewing machine and get back into the swing of things, but I think I could do it.”

“I know you could do it,” Korra said, her expression warm and eyes soft. “When do you envision yourself doing this?”

“Well, it’d take me two years to get my associates, and I have a few contacts within the industry who said they would take me on as an apprentice if I ever wanted to get serious about it. So, in a couple, maybe? I at least want to get started before I’m 30.”

“Any particular reason for that timeframe?” Korra asked. The question caused Asami to nervously bite her lip, but then one of Korra’s hands unclasped from hers and pulled it free from her teeth. “Stop that.”

“Sorry,” Asami said, her heart pounding when she noticed Korra’s near hooded eyes. “That timeframe because I— _we_ —will be entering a new chapter of our lives and I want to leave behind all of the things that held me back from doing what I wanted. Life’s too short, you know?”

“I do,” Korra confirmed.

“But I hope that before diving into another career, and barring any complications or things you have going on your end, we could just spend a year traveling together or something.”

“I like the sound of that,” Korra smiled. “Getting out of New York again would be nice.”

“Or, you know… permanently,” Asami said, and Korra looked so impressed by that admission that she reared back a little.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, we both seem to like an area like this,” she looked around for a moment before returning Korra’s gaze. “So maybe we could move somewhere woodsy, like in Vermont or even out of the country in some mountainous area. I’d build us a house—”

“A _house_?” Korra’s eyes widened. “You can do that?”

“I could design it, for sure.”

She watched Korra nod, taking a moment to digest that information. The terrified look never came, but Asami couldn’t pinpoint whether the reaction was good or bad.

“How big of a house are we talking?” Korra asked after a minute.

“Not super big, but comfy enough for the two of us.”

“And when you say the two of us… you mean only the two of us?” Korra’s voice got quieter. She stared up at Asami, waiting for confirmation.

Asami swallowed. She figured this part of the conversation would be the hardest. Looking out to the open field again, she watched and studied two horses that trotted nearby, stopping to graze at a less occupied grassy area.

“Yes, just the two of us,” she said. “There’s a lot of things I can imagine with us: travel, future careers, building a home together… getting married.”

“But no kids?” Korra asked.

Asami nodded, still refraining from looking Korra’s way, afraid of the reaction she might see. “I’ve worked so hard to have a name for myself despite the weight of having my father’s. I’m _still_ working on that. I don’t want to have a kid feeling like they’re in my shadow or neglected because of how hard and how much I love to work. I don’t want them to feel like I did. I don’t want to be like _him_. I can’t have a kid and continue that cycle, Korra, I just can’t.”

She couldn’t hide the emotion behind her voice in those last two sentences. It’d been something that terrified her the older she got. In past interviews she would do with magazines and talk shows, she’d occasionally be hit with the unoriginal question of future plans, relationships, and kids. Each time, she would feel the need to say yes or play coy, but later on the question and her answer would come back to haunt her at night. She knew that was the deal breaker in a lot of relationships, and in most of them she never felt scared to admit her stance if they lasted long enough to have that conversation.

But now things were so much different. None of those men were Korra.

When she didn’t receive a response right away, Asami’s chest tightened and she began to turn, but then Korra grasped her by the elbow and waited until Asami met her eyes. When Asami finally looked up, she breathed out a sigh when she noticed that familiar, soft expression on Korra’s face whenever she happened to be endeared by something Asami said.

“This might be the easiest conversation we’ll ever have,” she said.

Asami’s eyes widened, a small feeling of relief beginning to emerge through the depths of her inner crisis. “So, you…”

“I could barely stand myself when I was a kid, and I’m not exactly mother material either,” Korra said. “I can’t imagine scolding a teenager and telling them not to do literally every single thing I did when I was their age. It sounds so exhausting, too.”

“You don’t want kids,” Asami said out loud, more to herself.

“If you wanted them, I wouldn’t complain and would love and adore them with every part of my being because they were ours. But if we never had them, it wouldn’t exactly be keeping me up at night.”

“Oh, thank god,” Asami sighed and wrapped her arms around Korra’s shoulders and pulled her close. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that.”

“We can still get a dog though, right?” Korra asked as Asami continued to smother her.

“As many dogs as you want. Hell, we could have ten if you want.”

“Just one would be enough. I’m not cleaning up all that crap.”

Asami laughed, pulling away. She felt a flutter in her belly when she came face to face with Korra’s beaming smile.

“So, dog moms then?” she asked, sticking out her hand.

“Dog moms.” Korra shook on it.

“But for the record… I don’t think you’d be a bad mom to a human being at all,” Asami said.

Korra lifted her wrist and placed a kiss on the inside of it, right over the bracelet. “You wouldn’t be either. Even if it scared you, you’d do what was best to make sure that kid knew they weren’t alone because that’s who you are. You’re a _good_ person.”

Asami smiled and put her hand on Korra’s jaw, but then something serious took over as their gazes held.

“Not to push my luck or anything with how well you’ve been reacting to all of this, but there’s a reason why there’s no timeframe for when I’d ask you to marry me.”

She noticed the way Korra’s mouth slightly opened, soft puffs of air coming out, but still she stayed there in place, letting Asami’s hand run through her hair, staring back with an overwhelmed, heartfelt look on her face.

“You’d really want to do something that crazy?” Korra asked. “What if I’m not the marrying type?”

“I’ve done crazy things before, but marrying you wouldn’t be one of them,” Asami said, tilting her head as she smiled. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re the marrying type or not. The only thing that matters is that if or when the time comes and you’re ready for that kind of commitment, I’ll be ready for it, too. No matter how long it takes.”

Korra glanced away for a moment, breathing out similarly to the way Asami did before admitting to all of her hopes and dreams, and when she looked back, her expression became more earnest.

“I _want_ to be ready for that,” she said. “But…”

“I know,” Asami said, nodding when Korra didn’t continue. “You have things you want to figure out with your life first and I understand.”

“I just... I need to feel like someone who’s worthy,” Korra said. “Worthy of all this good.”

Asami’s heart ached at that erroneous judgement and traced her thumb over Korra’s bottom lip. Her eyes never wavered as she spoke ardently.

“You already are. All you have to do is accept it.”

Pulling Korra forward, Asami placed a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. But as she pulled back, Korra sought her mouth out again, their lips pressing together firmly and bodies naturally gravitating toward each other despite the heat. But the birds chirped louder, and the wind grew stronger. All a metaphor for Asami’s heart. With her eyes closed, she saw a clear picture of the future them, just as bright as the moment they were in. She didn’t need a fortune-teller to explain to her what was already written.

They’d been kissing for a lengthy amount of time when the sound of a car pulling up and someone clearing their throat interrupted them.

Asami quickly pulled away and wiped her bottom lip. She looked over and saw an SUV stopping beside them, an older woman looking at them from the open window.

“Ladies,” she tipped her baseball cap at them, appearing amused.

“Hi, Mrs. Beifong…” Asami said awkwardly and looked over at Korra, who’d naturally been rubbing the back of her neck.

“It’s nice to see you again, Asami. And please, it’s just Suyin. Or even just Su.”

“Right…”

Just as the embarrassment began to settle, the backseat window rolled down and Su’s twin boys Wei and Wing appeared, wiggling their fingers sarcastically as they waved.

“Ladies,” they said, mimicking their mother’s tone.

“And who is this?” Su directed her attention to Korra.

“This is Korra, my girlfriend,” Asami introduced.

“Obviously,” Wei and Wing said, snickering like juvenile little boys even though they were nearing the cusp of full-fledged adulthood.

“Opal told me you were dating again, but she failed to say anything about how gorgeous your partner is,” Su complimented.

Asami watched Korra blush, smirking a bit because for once it wasn’t her being put on the spot.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Korra said quietly.

“We’re just heading back from the farm. I’ll be going up to the hospital in a few minutes and was told to offer you guys a ride. Bolin said he got tied up with something work related and that he wanted to finish up the nursery, so he won’t be going back up there until later on tonight.”

“Oh, that’d be great, thanks,” Asami said.

“Boys, one of you hop up to the front,” Su ordered.

“Yeah, go on Wei,” Wing shoved his brother.

“Why me?” Wei shouted in upset.

“ _Now_ ,” Su said in a threatening tone.

Wei secretly flipped his twin the bird before hopping out, making Asami and Korra giggle at the interaction before getting into the back.

“My sister will be joining us up there, too, if you don’t mind,” Su said once they were all seated. “She just flew in today from D.C.”

“Not a problem,” Asami said, but Korra didn't give an answer.

“Can we go, too?” Wing asked.

“Oh, so _now_ you want to go?” Su turned, giving her son an unimpressed look. “All you’ll do is complain and beg me after an hour to leave so you can go play one of those silly mafia video games that you know I hate. You’ll see your sister soon enough.”

“ _Okay_ , geez! Way to cut off a dude's junk in front of the ladies." 

"First of all, language. And secondly, trust me, son, these ladies weren't thinking at all about your junk to begin with." 

Flushing with embarrassment at being scolded, Wing hung his head while Wei, Asami and Korra laughed at his expense.

After putting the car in drive, they headed back down the road from where Korra and Asami came.

* * *

Su talked a lot, Korra quickly found. She could tell where Opal got her bubbly personality from, as well as her witty sense of humor. There was never an awkward pause in conversation or an unnatural shift in topics. Su only knew Korra for just a few minutes, and yet she talked to Korra as if they were friends catching up after years. It was odd, but also refreshing.

In return, Korra was polite and asked questions, leading her to finding out quite a few things. Apparently the Beifong family was a fairly popular name back in Beijing and came from old money. Su’s grandfather was even the China ambassador to the U.S at one time.

Her mother Toph, a rebel, moved out of her home country at only 17 to start an independent life from her parents, who sheltered her because of her blindness. Her decision ended up being the right one because she then went on to become a famous philanthropist and political activist for not only the visually impaired community, but also women’s rights and immigrant advocacy.

All in all, Korra didn’t feel intimidated hearing all of that information. It didn’t ease her concern about Su’s sister Lin, however. If she was really some renowned DA, then that meant she probably knew a shit ton of information that regular citizens wouldn’t know. And the fact that Korra was about to be in the same room with her didn’t make the trip to the hospital easier than the first.

She couldn’t express her anxiety verbally, but on occasions Asami would turn around in the front seat just to give her a reassuring smile, which helped.

When they arrived at the hospital 20 minutes later, Korra found herself growing tense at the idea of going back in there again, but she ended up soothing herself by remembering they’d at least be in the recovery wing this time around.

It didn’t take nearly as many elevators or halls to get there, but once they got to the room, there were a few voices that could be heard from where they stood outside.

“Look who’s here,” Su announced as they walked through the door.

Opal, who’d been sitting up in bed, looked their way and a big smile lit up her face.

“Yay,” she clapped.

“You seem like you’re in a much happier mood compared to last night,” Asami said, walking over to give her friend a light hug, mindful of her stitches.

“I am. I’m going home tomorrow, and my angel face is coming with me,” Opal said.

“Mom?” Su said in confusion, looking in the direction of where the infamous Toph and Lin Beifong were sitting. Lin did not look much older than Su, with grey hair pulled back into a slick ponytail; her arms folded and legs crossed as she sat there quietly. Toph appeared somewhere between her late 70s or early 80s with light gray hair that flowed freely down her back. They were both barely paying attention to them once they walked in, busy focusing on the white bundle in Toph’s arms.

“Suyin,” Toph said once Su didn’t further her curious inquiry.

“What are you doing here? I thought you’ve been at home all this time.”

“I heard Lin was coming up and decided to meet with her here. Of course I also wanted to spend some quality alone time with my granddaughter and great-granddaughter.”

“She’s been here since visiting hours started,” Opal added, smiling her grandmother’s way.

“I could’ve just driven you,” Su said, walking over and giving Lin a side hug.

“Then that wouldn’t have qualified as quality alone time,” Toph said. “But seeing as how it’s been turned into a circus with three more people added to the room, I’ll be taking my leave shortly.”

Korra's brows rose at the accuracy of her guess. Where the woman lacked eyesight, her ears certainly picked up a lot of the missing details.

“Grandma T, be nice,” Opal said. “These are my friends. And you remember Asami, right? I believe I introduced you before.”

“Not really, no,” Toph said. All of her words were said with a certain level of sass and boredom. “Who’s the other person standing beside her with an aura that’s thick enough to absorb the rest of ours combined?”

Korra stiffened and looked over at Asami who appeared just as mortified.

“Mother, you’re being rude,” Su chastised and sent an apologetic look Korra’s way. “Sorry about that. She has a way with words sometimes.”

“Not a problem,” Korra said. Genuinely, she’d been caught off by the woman’s bluntness, and that was coming from someone as blunt as Korra. She could feel eyes on her and glanced over to find Lin staring. She didn’t say a word, only analyzing, which made the exchange even weirder in Korra’s eyes.

The baby began to cry, causing everyone’s attention to go to that instead of the awkward interaction. Su walked over and took her out of Toph’s hands.

“Oh, what’s wrong with my baby?” she asked, cooing at the little one and gently rocking her back and forth.

“ _My_ baby, you mean,” Opal said, rolling her eyes and looking at Asami. “Keep a close eye on that one.” She pointed at her mother. “I had a dream that she was secretly plotting to leave with the baby and never come back.”

“Oh, Opal, you’re so dramatic,” Su said and leaned closer to the baby’s face, bumping their noses. “Has all of that television rotted mommy’s brain over the past few months?” She said in a baby voice.

“Mom, I think Asami and Korra would like to have a turn with her now. They haven’t even seen her yet.”

“Oh, right, of course. They’ll have to wash their hands first.”

“On it,” Asami said and walked off to the bathroom a few feet away.

“You don’t want to hold her?” Opal asked Korra when she didn’t follow.

“I think I’m good,” Korra said, sending the baby in Su’s arms a wary look. The thought of having so much responsibility in her hands scared her to death.

Opal giggled. “That’s okay. Bolin can only hold her for five minutes at a time because he has some silly notion that he’ll crush her."

“Oh, because he’s _so_ strong and masculine,” Toph scoffed and folded her arms, mimicking Lin’s posture by total coincidence. “That boy’s going to have to learn to grow a pair.”

“Grandmaaaa,” Opal whined and threw her head back.

“Oh, I’m just teasing,” Toph said and got up, using her cane to easily make her way over to Opal. She felt for Opal’s hand and then her face before leaning down to kiss her forehead. “No one is worthy of my Opal, but he comes just as close as you can get.”

Asami came back with freshly cleaned hands. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Su handed the baby over without a fuss, minding the head and, with care, Asami scooped her up into her arms.

“So small…” she whispered as she went to sit down beside Lin.

“She’s gained almost an ounce overnight since feeding with me,” Opal said.

Korra went over to get a better look. The baby girl’s face scrunched up as she adjusted to Asami’s arms after being passed around so much. Her round, puffy cheeks were rose-colored, and soft, pouty pink lips poked out. For a brief moment, one of her eyes peeked open and revealed a deep shade of blue, which would more than likely change to her parents’ eye color over time.

“Oh my gosh, Opal, she’s breathtaking,” Asami said. She lifted up the small knit hat on the baby’s head to get a quick look at her dark, almost black, hair. “Have you come up with any names yet?”

“Bolin’s always been gung-ho about the name Bo, but I think it’d be way too confusing,” Opal said, sounding annoyed at the thought. “I really like Xia. So does mom.”

“Both are nice,” Asami complimented. “She feels like a Xia, though.”

“Yes!” Opal cheered and reached for her phone. “It’s officially 3 against 1. I’ll text Bolin right now."

“Little Xia Beifong has a nice ring to it,” Asami said, playing with the baby’s tiny hands.

Korra smiled at the sight. Even with their conversation from earlier still fresh in her mind, she knew Asami would treat that baby as an extension of herself. Playing auntie to a friend’s baby was way different from having a baby of your own.

“I’m surprised you had time to fly in given your without-a-doubt busy work schedule.”

Korra’s head snapped up at the sound of Lin’s voice for the first time.

“Yeah, it was a spur of the moment decision, but I’m just glad I was able to make it,” Asami said.

“I’ve read how well Future Industries has been doing in the last three years. Good work.”

“Thank you,” Asami said appreciatively.

“I know the beginning of the year didn't start out so well. That case Mako broke had the potential to be really damaging, but you managed to come out if it unscathed.” Her tone, in Korra’s opinion, sounded both impressed and yet suspicious.

“I wouldn’t say she came out of it completely unscathed,” Korra said, unable to keep her mouth shut. “You know, with all of the media attention, the bad memories it brought up and all,” she added.

Lin’s steely gaze met hers again, unflinching. “Right, of course. I meant no harm by that,” she said. “I don’t believe I caught your name.”

“It’s Korra,” she said, purposefully choosing not to reveal her last name. 

“Opal’s never mentioned you before. How long have you known her?”

“She’s Asami’s girlfriend,” Opal spoke up.

For the first time, Lin’s expression changed, and she seemed surprised.

“I didn’t realize… Congratulations to you both,” she said. It sounded as genuine as it could sound coming from a woman as stone-faced as her. Korra didn’t get bad vibes, but she measured the woman as any other opponent she ever stepped in a ring with. Everything about her seemed calculated, every look she gave full of intent. Korra could see her dominating a courtroom in the past, as well as playing the bad cop, no doubt.

“I have a wonderful idea,” Su cut in excitedly. “How about tomorrow night we have a celebratory dinner? Opal will be all settled and I’ll do all of the cooking. Plus, the boys would like a chance to see their niece, too.”

“Come on, mom,” Opal groaned. “I’m sure Asami and Korra don’t want to be overwhelmed with so many people at the house.”

“I’m fine with it,” Asami said.

“Me, too…” Korra replied, because of course she had no choice but to agree.

“Then it’s settled. Lin and mom, you’re both welcome to join us. Your flight back isn’t until tomorrow night, right, Lin?”

“I’ll let you know,” Lin said.

“As if you have any other choice when you’re staying with us,” Su said, giving her sister a look. “Mom, how about you?”

“Give me a list of what will be on the dinner menu and I’ll think it over,” Toph said and walked to the door. “Now, Lin, would you mind giving me a ride home? It’s way too stuffy in here.”

Lin sighed and got up. As she walked by, she glanced at Korra, a thoughtful look on her face as she passed.

“Good evening,” she said in a tone so dry that Korra had to wet her own tongue.

Clenching her jaw, she looked down at Asami to see if she felt the same amount of unease from that exchange, but Asami was busy getting up and walking over to Opal to hand over the baby.

As much as she hated to admit it, Mako was right. She needed to limit her contact with Lin. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and suspicion. And right now, Korra could easily make the top of her suspect list.


	4. The Perfect Definition

After staying up at the hospital for a few hours, Su dropped them back off at Bolin and Opal’s house, the late evening sun casting an orange and pink glow over the wooden panels in different ways the lower it went. 

When Korra and Asami got back, they found Bolin in the backyard finishing up a hardwood table he made for a client out of state who’d already been promised it would be ready the next day. He also managed to finish touching up the nursery as well, but it left him low on energy. When he said he was heading up to the hospital just as they came in, Asami practically forced him to take a break, even threatening to call Opal and tell her how much he’d been overworking himself. It successfully managed to sway him into taking a breather. 

They were in the backyard currently, lounging on the patio for a while and waiting for their dinner to arrive. Korra didn’t know how much she needed it: the sounds of nature around them, Bolin’s hardy, infectious laughter, and listening to the stories he and Asami shared of the times she hadn't been present for. It made her realize how transfixed she’d been on Asami and Mako’s relationship in the past that she hadn’t realized the close brother-sister dynamic Asami and Bolin shared. 

“So, Korra, you met Toph and Lin then, huh?” Bolin said humorously, taking a sip of his beer. “Did they leave you questioning your entire purpose in life?”

“It wasn’t bad,” Korra said. She still didn’t have the opportunity to get Asami alone and talk about her concerns, but she was sure once the baby’s spell on her wore off that she’d begin to notice Korra’s mannerisms. 

“It’s okay to admit it. I’m scared shitless of them both,” Bolin said.

“Is that the reason why you weren’t against coming home this morning to work on the nursery?” Asami asked, pulling up her sunglasses. She reclined on a patio chair with Pabu curled in her lap half-asleep, her long legs beginning to show signs of a tan.

“I got it done, didn’t I?” Bolin gave an innocent look.

“Most of it. You guys still have to make room for all of the baby gifts from me you have coming in the mail.” 

“You really didn’t have to do that, Asami,” Bolin said seriously.

“Of course I did. This is my niece we're talking about. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I think you guys have already had enough of those to last you a while.”

Bolin sighed. “That girlfriend of yours,” he said, looking at Korra as he directed his thumb in Asami’s direction, “as stubborn as a horse.”

“Always has been, always will be,” Korra agreed. 

“How can you guys gang up on me when I’m literally giving away free things? The injustice!” Asami proclaimed, only to smile when Korra lifted one of her hands and kissed her knuckles before letting it go.

“You know, I’m still in awe of the fact that you two are together.” Bolin smiled at them. “I always wondered what it’d be like, but I guess I just had to see it in person.” 

“If I didn’t know any better, I swear he just admitted to fantasizing about us together,” Korra said, leaning toward Asami.

“I think so, too. Wow, Bolin, you’re so bold,” Asami joined in on the teasing. 

“What—No!” Bolin’s cheeks brightened and he waved his hands in front of his face. “Not at all like that. Opal’s way better than any fantasy… Not that I’m saying you guys would be bad to fantasize about because you’re both very pretty. I mean, it’s not like I’m blind about that considering when I was younger I—” 

“Relax, Bo. We’re just messing with you,” Asami said, quickly cutting him off, which raised some questions for Korra. The same thing happened in the past with Opal as well.

Just then, the backdoor slid open and Mako appeared with a pizza in hand. An immediate shift in the air occurred at the sight of him, causing all but one of them in the small group to be put on edge. Korra didn’t spare him a look, and she watched Asami lower her sunglasses back over her face.

“You ordered this?” Mako asked Bolin. 

“Yup. I thought I told the guy to come through the back, though.” Bolin grabbed the pizza and watched Mako start to make his retreat back indoors. “You know, you could join us if you want?” 

“No thanks,” Mako responded curtly. 

“Mako, come on, man…” Bolin looked around at them all. “Don’t you think you’re being a little immature?” 

“No, as a matter of fact, I don’t think I am. I actually think I’m being the reasonable one in this situation.” 

Asami snorted and folded her arms but didn’t offer a verbal reply.

“Wait, what situation are you talking about?” Bolin asked, his face scrunching up in confusion. “If this is really about some old high school drama—” 

“It’s so far from that,” Mako cut him off and finally turned around. 

“Okay…” Bolin said slowly. “What is it then?”

Mako paused and took a moment to finally glance in Korra and Asami's direction, his eyes going between them both.

“You want answers? Ask them. I’m not playing any games and I’m done with being made to look like an idiot. So, for now, as long as they’re here, I’ll keep my distance. Just respect it, bro.” 

He went back into the house, shutting the screen door behind him with a loud _thump!_

Korra released a breath and looked over at Asami, who still kept her head turned, continuing to run her fingers through Pabu’s fur. 

“Asami, what did he mean by that?” Bolin asked. 

“I don’t know,” she answered quietly. 

“Why are you lying?” 

Asami’s lips turned downward. Even with the large sunglasses on, Korra could see the way her face rumpled. 

“I’m not hungry, so I think I’ll just go and get cleaned up,” Asami said, carefully getting up and placing a sleeping Pabu on the chair, barely stirring him. Without another word, she headed back inside.

Korra almost followed, but seeing the stumped look on Bolin’s face made her stay put. 

“I usually make it an effort not to get in their drama, but Korra,” he looked at her, a worried expression forming against the smooth features on his face. “Is this something I need to concern myself with?” 

“No.” Korra shook her head. “You shouldn’t have to, at least.” 

“Okay now what does _that_ mean?” Bolin leaned forward. “Why can’t anyone just be straightforward with me about things? Is it about the fact that you guys are together now?” 

“No, it's… It’s more complicated than that.” 

“Yeah, I can tell. Mako’s being plainer than a slice of bread—more than usual—and Asami… I don’t know. She’s been so distant since whatever happened back in December. It’s weird, and I’m not blaming you or anything, but I just want to know _why_ that’s happened.” 

Korra rubbed her hand under her chin. This situation was slowly beginning to spiral out of control if it hadn’t already, and she needed to get a handle on it. It surprised her earlier that day to hear how Asami hadn’t been communicating with Bolin that much, but the pain and confusion in Bolin’s voice hit her harder this time around. 

It made sense why Asami would think she needed to limit their contact. He was Mako’s brother, and Mako was married to the law. Asami wanted to put a line between herself and Bolin for the sake of keeping secrets. _Korra’s_ secrets. But in the process, she was hurting one of her closest friends even when they did nothing to deserve it. It would be a matter of time before Bolin realized that too, which would only add more conflict in Asami's life. 

That thought alone was enough to make up Korra’s mind in a spur of the moment decision. She relaxed her posture and stood up, walking over to the screen door and opening it to close the thick sliding glass as well and give them more privacy. She walked back over and sat down across from Bolin at the patio table. 

“There _are_ some things you should know,” she said truthfully. “About me, who I am now, and why Asami thinks she needs to protect me.” 

“Protect you?” Bolin asked, lifting a brow. “From who? Mako?”

“Mako, and people like Mako,” Korra said and sighed. “Listen, I’m going to tell you some things, and I just want you to listen. Can you do that?” 

“S-sure,” Bolin stammered, looking anxious. "You're kind of scaring me a little."

"I don't mean to, but this is serious. And the only reason I'm telling you is because I don't want to see Asami lose anyone else because of me." 

"So Opal doesn't even know about this?" 

“No, she's been in the dark just as much as you. I’d prefer if this was kept between us, but I won’t blame you if you decide you can’t keep this from your wife. That’s not what I’m asking you to do, okay?”

“Okay…” 

Korra took a deep breath, cracking her knuckles out of nervous habit, and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. With nothing holding her back, she carefully chose her words before letting them fly out of her mouth.

* * *

By the time Korra went upstairs, light left the sky, replacing it with bright stars and the illuminating moon. She found Asami sitting on the bed with her iPad, reading glasses on, already showered and ready for bed. Her girlfriend glanced up momentarily as she walked in. 

“I’m just catching up on some work,” she said, typing something in. “You’ve been gone awhile.” 

Korra shut the door behind her and locked it. “I was with Bolin. He’s headed back up to the hospital for the rest of the night.” 

Asami sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I know he probably has a lot of questions.” 

“He did.” 

“I can’t believe Mako was being such an asshole… Actually, scratch that. I totally can. Now he has Bolin all concerned and put me in this terrible position to look bad in front of him. I know our return trip back isn’t for another day after this, but I’m going to look and see if we can book something for tomorrow night instead. Once Opal’s home and settled in the morning, we can hang out, do the whole family dinner thing, and then go home. That would be wise, right?” She looked up after her rambling for Korra’s opinion. 

Korra didn’t reply. Instead, she fell down beside Asami on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling before shifting her eyes to meet her girlfriend’s fired up ones. She couldn’t help but stare admiringly even though Asami looked so pissed off at the moment. 

“I told him,” she said after several seconds passed. 

“Told who what?” Asami asked, the middle of her forehead creasing. 

“I told Bolin the truth about what’s going on.” 

Asami’s eyes comically widened. 

“You _what_?” 

“Well, not the whole truth,” Korra corrected herself. “But he knows enough.” 

“What exactly does he know?” 

“More than Mako. He knows that I was in a fight club and that you found out by pure chance. And he knows that you got tied up with bad people because you were trying to find me—And don’t say I wasn’t at least partially to blame,” Korra stopped Asami from arguing. “You would’ve never made that deal with you-know-who in the first place if I’d just come back to you. And now you’ve been keeping secrets from your friends so that they won’t know too much.”

“Exactly. So why tell Bolin? What if he lets it slip to Mako? What if he doesn’t understand and looks at the both of us differently?” 

“That wasn’t the reaction I got from him,” Korra said. Bolin actually took it all in stride. He asked questions and looked as surprised as anyone learning that kind of information, but not once did he look at Korra with judgement or disgust. “He was a little disappointed, but he knows we’re not bad people and even said he gets your side of things and the lengths you’d go for me.”

“That doesn’t guarantee he won’t accidentally say anything,” Asami said. 

“No. It doesn’t. Which is why if the time comes to it and Mako does find out, I’ll be the one to handle it.” 

“Korra—”

Korra held her hand up, silently asking for Asami to let her finish. “Mako’s not going to go after you even if he knew the whole truth. We've already been over this. He may be pissed at you, but even I can tell that he’s mostly hurt because you’ve been lying and keeping things from him. With me, however, there’s no telling what he’s thinking because on one hand he severely dislikes me, but on the other hand he knows that hurting me would hurt you in the process. And while I love how much you stick up for me, I can look out for myself. Also, while we’re on the subject, quit pushing a good friend like Bolin who loves and adores you away because you think it’s what you need to do to protect me. That’s not what I want… I couldn’t live with myself if I was the reason you chose to break up your lifelong friendships. That’s not healthy for us, and Bolin doesn’t deserve that.”

Asami’s eyes softened in an instant. She placed her iPad on the side table and then pushed herself on top of Korra, resting her head on Korra’s chest and allowing their legs to tangle. 

“I just want you to be safe, that’s all,” she said quietly.

“And I just want you to be happy,” Korra responded. She ran her hands up and down Asami’s sides, feeling the cool silkiness of her gown slip through her fingers. “I trust my decision to tell Bolin, and I don’t think he’ll tell Mako.” 

“I hate that I’ve sounded so doubtful about him,” Asami admitted. “But I don’t want him to think he has to choose between his brother and us.” 

“It’s not like that at all. Two of the closest people in his life are fighting and he wants to help fix it. I think you know a thing or two about that.”

“I do.” Asami sighed, rubbing Korra’s upper arm and tracing over her sun tattoo. “It’s always hard. All those times I sensed the tension between you and Mako, I just ignored it for my own sanity even when I knew I needed to address it before it got worse. I always regret not doing it sooner.” 

“We would’ve never been friends like you wanted us to be,” Korra said. “Maybe we would’ve been able to tolerate each other a little better. But I would’ve always resented the fact that you guys were together… That the girl I loved was in love with somebody else.” 

“I know.” Asami sighed again. “I was just in denial.”

“So are you cool with my decision then?” 

“I am. It’s just weird that you’ve become the more trusting one out of the two of us.” 

“Yeah… Don’t get too ahead of yourself. I think we need to be careful around Opal’s aunt.” 

“Lin?” Asami sat up, her knees going on either side of Korra’s waist. “You think she knows something?” 

“I think she’s a person who asks a lot of questions. You didn’t tell me she’s a retired DA of New York.” 

“It must’ve slipped my mind during all of the craziness,” Asami said, a guilt-ridden expression on her face. 

“Understandably so. How close are you with her?”

“I’ve only interacted with her a few times. Opal lived with her while she was going to school in New York.”

“So she’s never given you the third degree about Hiroshi? The trial?” 

“She would ask how I was doing, but she never made me feel uncomfortable. I think she was one of the very few people who realized I was just a kid who had no idea what was going on. She’s a very perceptive person.”

“Doesn’t that scare you? She sounded a little too curious about the Raiko stuff.” 

Asami shrugged and combed her fingers through her hair. “That’s always been her tone with everyone. I really don’t believe she’s a threat, Korra. Besides, she’s retired and lives in D.C. now.” 

“I know, but there’s just something about her that _bugs_ me.”

Asami giggled and placed her hands on Korra’s abdomen, smoothing out the wrinkles in her tank top. “Maybe it’s because she's like the older version of you.”

_“Me?”_

“Yes, _you._ Always suspicious, not too quick to trust, constantly looking for some kind of conspiracy, attracted to women…” 

“Wait what?” Korra asked, feeling like she’d been thrown a double whammy. “You never told me she dated women.” 

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but I’ve had my suspicions for a while, and Opal does, too. However I’ve been told by Ginger recently that I have no gaydar.”

“You don’t,” Korra agreed with a laugh and then yelped when Asami pinched her on the arm and wouldn't let go. “Ow! Okay, I believe you! I must’ve been too distracted with figuring out the motive behind all of her little inquiries.”

“Hmm, I could see it now. Korra, the new big bad DA to hit the streets of New York,” Asami teased. 

“That would be such a cliché, though. Like something you’d see on some cheesy legal drama series where the person’s all like, ‘First I broke the law, now I _am_ the law.’” 

Asami laughed harder that time at Korra’s overdramatized southern impression. “It wouldn’t be such a bad look.”

Korra hummed and brought her hands to the top of Asami’s thighs, giving them a slow, methodical rub. In doing so, it caused a few inches of Asami’s nightgown to brush up.

“ _This_ isn’t a bad look,” she said. 

“Have I distracted you from your latest conspiracy theory?” Asami stopped Korra’s hands and raised them, forcing her palms open and splaying their fingers together before entwining them. 

“It’s not a conspiracy. Just a hunch.”

“I believe you,” Asami said. Leaning down, she touched her lips against Korra’s chest, right above her heart, then she proceeded upward with several butterfly kisses. “You’re always looking out for us, making sure we’re safe—making sure _I’m_ safe. You have no idea what that does to me.” 

Korra shivered when she felt Asami’s tongue on her neck, licking there before giving a soft bite. At the same time, Asami lowered their hands and placed them on her hips, allowing Korra previously denied access that she didn’t take for granted. When Asami’s face lifted, her lips hovered so close to Korra’s that when Korra licked her lips, her tongue accidentally swiped against Asami’s bottom lip.

Asami immediately swooped in. Her succulent mouth pressing against Korra’s, forcing hers open so their tongues could swipe and tease and chase. Then, ever so slightly, Asami’s hips gave a small rock.

Korra moaned and broke the kiss, their lips smacking apart but faces remaining close; harsh breaths mingling. 

“We shouldn’t,” she tried, but her actions didn’t match her words as her hands began to travel up Asami’s thighs and under her silky nightgown to squeeze her soft, round cheeks. It set Asami off so much that she began to roll her hips against Korra’s pelvis more generously. 

“No, we shouldn’t,” Asami agreed while going after Korra’s mouth again and placing wet kisses. “It’d be wrong, wouldn’t it?” 

A frustrated noise left Korra’s mouth when Asami pulled back and sat up. It was crazy how she could make Korra feel like some horny teenager who lacked any and all sense of self-control. That dark veil of hair falling over her shoulders and down her back in waves, the glazed look in her eyes as she stared down at Korra, nonverbally telling her what she really wanted—needed... It still amazed Korra that she could be looked at that way by someone she thought she could never reach. To know that she was wanted and could _feel_ that want. 

Her hands slid back around from Asami’s rear, resting on her hips briefly before rising and wrinkling the gown with every movement. She stopped right at Asami’s mounds and ran her thumbs over covered nipples, wetting her lips as she saw and felt the way the small peaks hardened, poking through the gown after just those brief seconds of touching and kissing. Hearing soft moans escape Asami’s lips sent electric pulses rushing to Korra’s center. She wanted to moan, too, but something proprietorial took over her mind, telling her not to share too much of her own need for now. Right now, all she wanted was for Asami to beg. 

“Tell me to stop,” Korra said, her voice lowering to a rough timbre. When Asami didn’t say anything, Korra gave a harsh pinch to one nipple, causing a louder moan from Asami to escape. Korra used her other hand to quickly cover her girlfriend’s mouth with the pad of her fingers. At home, they could afford to be loud whenever and wherever they wanted, but this would prove to be one of their biggest challenges yet.

Asami’s eyes were tightly squeezed shut. When she finally opened them, the neediness in her expression only intensified, as well as her desire. 

“I can’t,” she admitted in a helpless whisper. Taking Korra’s hand that’d been on her mouth, she sucked on Korra’s fingers, handling every digit with care until they were covered in spit. 

Memorized by the action, Korra could only watch as Asami lowered her hand, brushing over the pale expanse of her neck, leaving a wet trail, over her breasts again, and down to her lower half.

Both of Korra’s hands began to move on their own and slid Asami’s purple gown up to her hips to reveal her panties. Placing her thumb there, Korra began to lightly rub the outline of Asami’s slit, the telltale signs of wetness beginning to peek through. She watched Asami bite her lip to keep from moaning out loud. Her hips made slow thrusts, and the harder she ground down on Korra, the more she couldn't refrain from letting the desperate pleas spill from her lips. 

“Korra... Korra, please, _”_ she whined when Korra’s thumb remained light and teasing. 

“What?” Korra asked. 

Asami’s look quickly became a mix of a glare and a pout. “You know what.” 

“And what if Mako heard us, hm?” Korra tried to rationalize. It should have subdued her arousal to talk about her girlfriend’s ex; make her not want to give in to Asami’s needs. But surprisingly it did the exact opposite and created an image of their lovemaking rocking the floors, crumbling the earth. Shaking and rattling two souls and disturbing another. As a result, her entire hand came to Asami’s front. 

But in a turn of events, Asami forced Korra’s hand to stop. Korra looked up in surprise, thinking she may have angered Asami by that comment, but then she caught the aroused, half-lidded expression on Asami’s face that almost had her choking on air. 

“And so what if he did?” Asami challenged and pressed Korra’s fingers harder against her crease, allowing it to move in small circles. “After all, it’s not like you’d mind, right.” When Korra’s eyes widened in response, Asami only smirked and leaned down to get close to Korra’s ear. “You forget how much I know you. Your expression says it all. You try to do the respectful thing and be classy, and I love that, but I also know deep down a part of you wants him to know how much stake and claim you have over me.” 

“A-Asami.” Korra shook herself from the dark lust in Asami’s tone that threatened her own. 

“Admit how much you want that,” Asami said, slowing Korra’s fingers down and moaning at the same time. The small wet spot gradually grew to the point where the entire front of Asami’s panties were soaking. “Admit how much you want me to scream your name and come several times in this bed knowing that only you can make me go crazy like that in a way no one else can.” 

Asami’s hand forced Korra’s to halt, and Korra could still feel the heat and sleekness through the fabric, but it wasn’t enough. She _needed_ to be inside, needed to feel Asami’s walls clenching around her, desperate for her to hit that perfect angle; that perfect spot. But Asami’s fingers held fast, preventing her from so much as brushing the annoying undergarments to the side. It was maddening. But from just looking at Asami’s calm, determined expression, Korra knew they would never proceed until she got the answer she wanted. 

“Only a small part,” Korra admitted. “A very small part because I already know I’m the only one who gives you what you need and leaves you wanting more. Even when I fuck you so good you can barely walk, you still can’t get enough of me.”

“Korra,” Asami gasped, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. And just like that, the roles switched again, with Asami trying to press Korra’s fingers against her more and Korra resisting. 

“The bigger part of me just wants to make sure _you_ remember that,” Korra said, watching with a heated gaze as Asami slowly lost the battle. “Do you? Or do I need to make you remember?” 

“God _yes.”_ Asami’s eyes flashed, and between her legs, Korra could feel a pulse. When Asami finally released her hand, Korra wasted no time and surged upward to claim Asami’s lips again. It was desperate, passionate, and intoxicating all at once. For a moment she brought both hands up to Asami’s chest again, squeezing and rubbing her breasts, causing Asami to arch into the touch. 

Korra thought she was nearing the state of delirium because of the teasing they both did to each other to reach that point. However, Asami’s words repeating in the back of her mind kept her somewhat present. Her dirty words and demands would be met first.

Pulling away, Korra lowered herself back down on the bed and trailed her eyes up and down Asami’s covered body with hunger. 

“Take it off,” she said, referring to the gown. Her demanding and serious tone made Asami shiver. Sitting up all the way again, she stared down at Korra for a lingering moment, as if in a trance, and then proceeded to lift her gown over her head. She threw it elsewhere and then raised her hand to her face to remove her glasses, but Korra stopped her. “No. Leave those on."

Without saying anything, and with a smug smile, Asami lowered her hand and sat there, waiting for further instructions. 

Instead of giving any instruction, however, Korra let her eyes sweep over Asami’s chest, admiring the soft slopes and dusky nipples at their peak. She brushed her thumbs over both nubs, then squeezed, causing a round of soft sighs from Asami. But it wasn’t enough. She needed Asami writhing, breathing heavy, and struggling not to shout Korra’s name to the ceiling. 

She turned them swiftly, laying Asami flat against the bed, earning another gasp from her. Korra hooked her fingers in each side of the last piece of fabric that got in her way. 

“Let’s get these off,” she said. 

Asami raised her hips to aid Korra. When she fell back onto the bed, there was a blush rising up her chest to her cheeks that indicated her arousal. But nothing spelled it out more perfectly for Korra as Asami’s lower half did. 

It was nothing Korra hadn't seen before, but it still never failed to provoke a strong, illicit reaction from her. Asami's puffy, pink folds glistened and folded back, her red, engorged clit revealed beneath her hood. Korra licked her lips and flexed her fingers at the same time, unsure of if she wanted to touch or taste more. Asami eventually made the decision for her and grabbed Korra’s hand, placing it against her lower lips and letting out a quiet whimper instantly from the mere touch. 

After coming out of her trance, Korra swatted Asami’s hand away and took charge. She used her thumb again and pressed against Asami’s entrance, rubbing gently. When she pulled her hand back, she appraised the amount of wetness she collected and stared directly into Asami’s eyes as she popped the digit in her mouth, sucking off every bit of Asami’s essence. It was her new addiction, her new craving. But it was one she’d never want to control. 

Asami’s eyes were lidded as she stared up at Korra’s erotic gesture, a hint of jealousy in her eyes. Korra, not wanting to play any more games, brought her hand between Asami's legs again and used her index and middle fingers, letting both get sucked into Asami’s tight lips and vast heat. Asami’s reaction was immediate, whispering Korra’s name and asking for more as she rolled her hips, wanting Korra’s fingers to go even deeper. Korra granted that wish and sped up her movements, as well. Leaning down, she kissed and sucked at Asami’s neck, feeling Asami’s breathing grow heavier and the rapid pulse against her tongue.

Asami could only fold beneath her, her long limbs wrapping around Korra’s body, nails digging into the back of Korra’s shirt, her inner walls fluttering.

“O-oh God!” she breathed out.

Once Korra rubbed her thumb over the small, glistening bud, Asami cried out, her mouth opening wide as she shuddered against Korra. Swiftly lifting her head, Korra brought their lips together, swallowing Asami’s moans as she rode out her orgasm.

After pulling back, Korra waited a moment, allowing herself to watch the visual unfold of Asami’s chest rising and falling, the sweat dripping down her neck, the way her glasses fogged, and the small quakes her body made. Her own body squirmed, and she began to grow agitated by the fact that her clothes were still on. 

She removed her fingers.

“Korra,” Asami whimpered at the loss, almost causing Korra to lose her mind at the sound of her own name. 

After getting her clothes off, she practically manhandled Asami by the hips and flipped them once more. She forced Asami to use her knees and move up while at the same time she scooted down the bed, maneuvering until she lined up with where she needed to be. She watched for a second as the muscles of Asami’s walls throbbed, searching and aching for something to wrap around, her clit glistening from her previous release while the start of a new state of arousal formed. Korra wrapped her arms around Asami’s thighs before forcing her hips down and flattening her tongue against the sensitive bud. 

Asami howled, probably forgetting where they even were at the moment. She grabbed the back of Korra’s head, lacing her fingers through her hair to press her closer while pinching one of her nipples with the other. 

“ _Mmm_ , Korra… so good,” she said. 

Korra’s heart soared at the praise, which only furthered her assault. She alternated between licking voraciously and sucking hard on Asami’s clit. Her mouth and chin became lathered in wetness, but Korra couldn’t get enough of the taste, Asami’s scent, or those unashamed moans that came out of her. It made Korra’s own walls clench, and she reached between her thighs, touching herself. 

As much as she loved giving herself over to Asami and letting her have her way, that side of Korra that begged for control and to dominate was satisfied with their current state. Asami writhing on top of her, calling Korra’s name over and over again, practically sobbing as she begged for another release. She _needed_ Korra. Needed her so much that she forgot her own conventional behavior. Korra never felt more powerful and responsible. 

Without any warning, she put all her efforts into making quick, hard sucking motions, occasionally dragging her tongue and nose over the pulsing button that only needed a single push. 

“Oh!” Asami shouted. Her hands fell away from Korra’s hair and fisted the sheets beside her head. “F-fuck! I’m so …” she started, but the intensity consumed her first. Her hips squirmed, as if she didn’t know whether to move away or urge Korra to continue.

Korra moaned and kept Asami’s hips forced down with one arm while continuing to finger herself, feeling her wetness slipping down her thighs as she rubbed. She kept her lips firmly attached to Asami’s bud as she sucked until she felt it pulse on her tongue. Taking that as a sign, Korra gave a hard suck. 

The overstimulation made Asami come in seconds. So loud that this time she covered her own mouth to stifle her screams. A warm flow of honey dripped into Korra’s mouth, and she caught as much of it as she could, the rest dripping down her face. Glancing up from her vantage point, she caught Asami's face in pure bliss, eyes rolled to the back of her head and her mouth gone slack. Korra sped up her hand on her clit and it sent her tumbling over as well with only a groan because her mouth was so occupied. 

Asami’s orgasm lasted a lot longer than her normal ones, and Korra continued her actions an extra minute or two after, softening her sucks until they became gentle licks and kisses. When even that became too much for Asami, she had to lightly push down on Korra’s shoulder. Korra respectfully let go of the delicate, raw flesh with a final suck and let Asami slide down her body until she fell off to the side. Their breaths mingled as they fought to catch them. 

“You okay?” Korra asked a minute later, unable to hide her smirk. 

Asami didn’t say anything because she was still panting. Then she surprised Korra by grabbing the back of her head and pulling her forward into a deep kiss that made Korra’s head spin. Asami tasted every part of herself left over on Korra’s mouth, licking her chin and sucking on her bottom lip. When she pulled away, she wiped at her mouth and then Korra’s. 

“Every time I think we’re finally on equal footing, you just have to go and widen the gap even further, don’t you?” 

Korra laughed. “You’re steadily catching up to me, young Padawan. Besides, as you so provocatively claimed the other night, I owed you one.” 

Asami smiled as well, her cheeks red and eyes sparkling with happiness and enlightenment. “God, that felt… How is it possible that you give me so much, and yet I still feel like I haven’t even had a fraction of it?”

Korra only half heard, her racing heart beginning to throb at just the sight of this beautiful woman she’d always be able to call hers. She brought her clean hand to Asami’s cheek. 

“I _love_ you,” she said, but even that couldn’t convey how much she felt. It went so far and into something deeper than words could define. 

Asami’s hand fell into Korra’s hair, playing with it, but her expression turned serious.

“I love you, too,” she whispered. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips onto Korra’s again. Their mouths slowly moved against each other this time, creating a slow burn in Korra’s chest that continued to build. Asami couldn't have been more right. There was no limit of what Korra would be willing to give her. She would take her over and over again until they blurred into each other, reaching a point where it didn’t matter who was who. All that mattered was _being_.

Korra wondered. Maybe that, in itself, was the closest she would come to being able to define it. 


	5. Truth Seeker

Korra’s feet dug into the dirt path as she ran, pushing through the pain in her legs and the heaviness in her chest as she ascended a hill. A Run the Jewels song blared in her ears, the tempo matching the beat of her heart. It was an overcast morning, though the temperature was expected to rise to the 90s by noon.

Opal, Bolin, and the baby arrived home earlier that morning. Given Opal’s condition, the only thing she wanted to do was lie down with Xia. Asami and Bolin tended to their needs, making sure they got settled in properly. Then Su arrived not long after to start cooking for, what Korra figured would be, a while if she showed up so early.

With the house being more occupied than the previous days, Korra couldn’t shake the feeling of being overwhelmed and decided she’d been past due for a workout. She wasn’t uncomfortable in the house with Opal and Bolin’s family, but she didn’t necessarily feel needed in the moment either. Also, she still needed to wake up after her and Asami’s, ehem, _activities_ from the night before, which led to them only getting four hours of sleep. If Mako heard them, he didn’t show it when they made their appearance in front of Bolin and Opal once they arrived.

She kept up her pace, making a sharp decline down the hill she just ascended, and followed the trail that led her past tree after tree until she reached a minor clearing and could see how far along she’d gotten. Almost 10 miles according to her FitBit. The trail apparently went on for another 25, but it didn't seem to wrap back around at any point.

She saw the ranch and a couple of horses in their little country of grass, though they were quite a distance away. The sky looked indecisive about whether it would rain or not, but with the tilt of her head and a sniff of the air, Korra knew it wouldn't. 

She could make it back to the house in under 45 minutes if she really pushed it. Besides, Asami said she’d send a cavalry out to find her if she'd been gone for more than two hours.

She turned back in the direction from where she came and gave her legs a quick stretch before resuming her run. But then her phone started ringing, cutting off her music. She pulled the device out of the pocket of her shorts, thinking it was Asami. It surprisingly wasn’t.

“Hi, Mom,” she answered.

“Sweetheart, is this a bad time?” Senna asked. She sounded a slight bit staticky due to the poor reception on Korra’s end.

“No. I’m just taking a break from a run,” Korra replied, walking back toward the clearing and sitting down on a patch of grass.

“How’s Asami’s friend doing? You had me pretty worried the other day with that text.”

Korra inwardly kicked herself. “Right, my bad. I didn’t mean to worry you.” With everything going on, she forgot about the texts she received asking if she had a few minutes to chat, as well as for updates on Opal’s condition. In all honesty, she was still getting used to having such frequent contact with Senna. It didn’t feel natural to update her mother on her day-to-day life, however Korra wanted to make it a new normal.

They made so much progress in the last month since Senna came to visit. In fact, Korra found herself really _missing_ her: her laugh, her calm demeanor, and her epic tales of veterinarian heroism. It was amazing how much trying could help mend a formerly broken relationship.

“So everything’s fine?”

“Oh yeah,” Korra said, almost forgetting the question. “Opal’s fine, baby’s fine. They actually just came back home today.”

“That’s wonderful. Send my congrats.”

“I will…” It went quiet, and Korra knew something was coming, but she couldn’t decipher the feeling it gave her. The calming wind blew against her legs and chest, providing some relief from the heat. She undid her bun, letting her sweaty strands breathe for a moment and fall over her shoulders.

“There’s another reason why I’m calling,” Senna’s voice came through Korra’s headphones.

“Right. Is everything okay?” Korra asked.

“Yes. Everything’s great. It’s just… Your father’s been asking about you lately.”

Korra froze, her hand tangled between a few chunks of hair. She wondered if she heard Senna right at first, but from the long drawn out silence indicating her patience as she waited for a response, Korra knew her ears weren’t clogged. The only response she could offer, however, was a simple “oh…”

“Yeah. I guess it all started because I’ve been talking a lot about you, how we’re working through our past issues, and how well it’s going,” Senna added. “Then it gradually became him asking about how you are because he knows how often we talk now.”

“I see…”

“He, um… would really like to see you, Korra,” Senna said.

This time, Korra remained silent. For a brief second, her mother’s words flipped the rewind switch, taking her back to a time with hands slamming on tables, the loud booming of her father’s voice as he yelled, and the disappointment in his eyes that stained absolute shame into Korra’s heart.

_“You’re just… not who I hoped you would be.”_

“Are you still there?”

Korra blinked, looking around. It suddenly felt too quiet on the lonely trail.

“I’m still here,” she confirmed after a long pause and cleared her throat. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him that the decision would be up to you and you alone. I know how many times you’ve expressed before that you’d rather not come up here because of him. But I didn’t know how you’d feel about it knowing that he asked for you to be here. Also, with his job and all, he thought it would make the most sense.”

 _He would **want** it that way,_ Korra thought.

“I don’t know how I feel about that,” she answered honestly. It was the very last thing she expected to hear from her mom. The last time they spoke of Tonraq, she revealed some very eye-opening things about their relationship, as well as her disapproval of his methods of dealing with Korra over the years. Now it seemed that with Tonraq’s willingness, she’d never been happier to have a conversation about him.

“And that’s perfectly fine,” Senna said. “I’m not calling to convince you into doing anything. The decision is yours, like I said. You can think about it, and whatever you decide, your father and I will respect it.”

Korra rubbed a hand over her mouth, still trying to process all of this. Tonraq—her absentee father— _wanted_ to see her? In what world? In which alternate dimension?

“Listen, I have to go. I was only on a quick lunch break,” Senna said. “Just give it some thought over the next couple of days or weeks. There’s no pressure to answer right away… or at all if that’s your choice.”

“Okay,” Korra mumbled. When the call ended, her hand fell into her lap.

At this point (and probably even way before that), her life was looking like one big motion picture. There were no breaks in suspense, no moments of simple pause. It just kept moving forward. But unlike a movie, there seemed to be no ending in sight for her.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and put her head into them. Again, she only saw her father, his stoic expression, and how he provided little to no comfort in the latter years of their relationship. What if that never changed? What if even though he didn't mind seeing her, his opinion of her would never change?

She had so many reasons to say no, and all of them would’ve been valid. They would be the _easiest_ way out. And after all of the hardships she'd been through, didn't she deserve easy?

After taking another moment to let her brain go into overdrive, she needed to have the rest of her body catch up to it. She got up from the grass, tying her hair back up, and turned the music up loud enough to drown out every other noise, including her thoughts, before taking off.

She wanted her lungs to burn, her legs to throb, and to imagine she was running toward an ending that led to no heartbreak.

* * *

Asami finished putting Opal’s dirty clothes from her hospital stay in the washer and turned it on. As she walked out of the laundry room, she nearly crashed right into Bolin.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, immediately checking to see if he had Xia in his arms. Luckily, they’d only been filled with fresh towels.

He gave her a half smile. “No worries. Would you mind opening that closet over there for me?”

“S-sure.” Asami stepped in front of him and walked farther down the hall, stopping at the linen closet and opening the door. Bolin gave a quiet thanks and neatly stuffed the towels inside.

Asami stared, biting her lip nervously. They’d both been so preoccupied with Opal that it didn’t leave any time in between to talk about last night and what Korra told him. Her girlfriend’s rash decision to spill the beans still surprised her, but she could understand why Korra felt the need to do it. Yes, it was true that after being shut out by Mako she kept her conversations with Bolin limited, but she didn’t want to, of course. It was just common sense in her mind that having Bolin remain out of it would ensure Korra’s safety and keep him from judging Korra and herself as quickly as Mako would if he ever knew the whole truth. But with Bolin’s unwillingness to meet her eyes right now, she feared that ended up being the case after all.

“Bo,” she said just as he shut the closet door.

“Yeah?” he looked over at her.

Asami cautiously looked around. Opal was just down the hall, watching TV and tending to the baby, and the kitchen stood far enough away for Su not to hear anything. She also knew that Mako would stubbornly stick to his word and spend a lot of his time down in the basement and away from them, only making an appearance any time Bolin needed help with something. But still, just to be safe, she kept her voice low enough to not be heard over the loud rumbling of the washer.

“Korra said she told you some things...” she started.

“She did,” Bolin said with a nod.

“And I wanted to know where we stood.”

Bolin looked away, which immediately caused worry to stir in Asami’s gut.

“You’re one of my best friend’s,” he said first, meeting her eyes again. “I’ve known you since we were kids and you’re my sister, blood or no blood. Did it surprise me to hear about what you’d gotten yourself into? Yes. Do I think less of you? No. I just don’t understand why you felt like you couldn’t talk to me or trust me.”

“I do trust you,” Asami said, stepping forward in earnest. “It’s Mako who I can’t trust. Not when it comes to Korra.”

“What would it matter if he knew now? Korra said she’s not part of that anymore, so it’s not like she’s doing anything illegal now.”

“I’m not going to let him interrogate her. She had ties with a dangerous person who wouldn’t like it if they knew she was being questioned. This isn’t just about her either, Mako could be in danger too if he dug any further into it. And Korra— _we_ —still have friends who would be in danger if that information went into the wrong hands,” Asami explained.

Bolin nodded, folding his arms and not offering any words. 

Asami sighed. “I already know what you want to say.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. You want to say that if they’re so worried about it, they shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

Bolin paused.

“Well, would it be wrong if I said it?”

“Look, I don’t agree with that lifestyle either, okay? But I’m not going to judge them. They have their reasons for doing what they do, just like Korra did.”

“I'm not trying to judge anyone,” Bolin said, frowning. “I like Korra, I’ve always respected her, and I am still over the moon about you guys being together. I just hope you stay out of that stuff for good. I want you _both_ to be safe.”

“We will. We are,” Asami said, and when she noticed the skepticism in her friend’s eyes, she stared back at him with an unflinching gaze, determined to get him to believe in her like he always did. “I _promise._ Korra’s done with it. She’s moved on and she’s grown a lot since leaving. We’re happy, Bo.”

She watched her friend's shoulders slowly begin to relax. After that, he gave a short nod before opening his arms to her. Asami went into them and hugged him tightly, her irrational thoughts of thinking she almost lost him coming into play.

“But… you do know that as long as you keep this from him, things will continue to be this way, right? Mako can hold a grudge,” Bolin said.

Asami sighed, this time more melancholy, and pulled away after a minute. “I know.”

“I always wondered why he never seemed grateful for any of the praise he got for busting that Raiko guy, and now I have my answer. As long as he doesn’t feel like he’s earned something, he’ll never take it at face value.”

Asami dropped her head, knowing full well how many times she thought the same thing. “I never wanted that. I know how much he loves his job, and it _does_ eat away at me knowing that I potentially made him doubt his capabilities or feel ‘crooked’ in any way.”

“I’m sure he knows deep down that you never wanted to hurt him.” Bolin sounded sympathetic, but Asami felt like she didn’t deserve it. “And if you need me to talk to him, I will.”

“No, please don’t. I already wish we could’ve handled this situation a long time ago without getting you involved.”

“Okay, I won’t. But, Asami, from now on I want you to remember that I’m always going to be here no matter what happens between you and him. He and I aren’t some package deal, okay?”

Asami nodded. She already knew that, but having that reminder was certainly needed.

“On the plus side, at least you know you have someone willing to risk it all for you. I’ve never heard Korra talk so much in my life.”

Asami chuckled, some of the tension breaking. “Yes, she actually has quite a lot of interesting things to say.”

Bolin smiled and touched her shoulder. “I really am happy for the two of you.”

Asami nodded with a smile of her own. “I know.”

They went quiet until the sound of wails coming from down the hall and Opal’s shushing made them both turn in that direction.

“I should probably go and ask if she needs help,” Bolin said.

“If you ask any more times, I’m sure you’ll be kicked out of bed tonight.”

“Story of my life. Either way, it’s all out of loooove,” Bolin sang and gave her a wink before backing down the hall.

Asami laughed. Satisfied with the way that conversation went, she walked in the opposite direction. She could smell the dinner cooking throughout the house and checked the time. She still had a few hours left before the house filled with Opal’s family. Thinking about that made her consider taking a nap, which wasn’t a bad idea. But first she needed to check and make sure her girlfriend didn’t get kidnapped or mauled by a bear or something. 

Granted, whenever Korra did go out for a run without her, she ran a much longer distance, but since they weren’t in a familiar place, it didn’t hurt to check in on her and make sure she didn’t get lost.

As she headed upstairs, she pulled out her phone and dialed Korra’s number. It rang twice, but to Asami’s amazement, she discovered Korra walking out of the bathroom, freshly showered and changed.

“Hey, I was just calling you,” Asami said, walking up to her. “When did you get back?”

“Not that long ago,” Korra replied and kept walking. There was something rigid in her footsteps, and her voice sounded eerily quieter than what it’d been only a few hours ago.

“Hey, wait,” Asami said, stopping Korra by the arm and making her turn despite the reluctance. “What’s the matter? You seem… off.”

Korra’s eyes remained downcast, her wet hair beginning to drip on the towel wrapped around her neck.

“It’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head. She tried to turn again but Asami wouldn’t let her.

“Korra, wait, talk to me,” Asami said, worried. Everything seemed fine earlier before Korra went on her run. Though, Asami became a little preoccupied with Opal and getting her settled. She tried to remember if they talked about anything earlier that morning that could’ve been a hint, but then she realized they hadn’t really engaged in a proper conversation since before they went to sleep. “This isn’t about what happened last night, is it?” she asked once that thought came to mind. For the tiniest moment after all of the lust and desire faded, she worried that they took it too far, but the happiness in Korra’s eyes at the time wiped away those thoughts.

“Not at all.” Korra shook her head vehemently and then a light smile appeared on her lips. “As if I’d ever have any regrets about doing those things to you.”

Despite herself, Asami blushed, thinking of those “things” Korra spoke of. She opened her mouth to respond, but then her phone started ringing in her hand. Looking down at it, she saw it was Opal calling.

“Sorry, hold on,” she apologized and answered the call.

“Hey, could you please come back downstairs for a moment?” Opal sounded stressed. “Bolin’s having trouble with the diaper and I feel like I’m going to pop a stitch if I move any more. I’d ask my mom, but she stepped out to go to the market. Plus, I’m bored.”

“Of course, I’ll be right there,” Asami said once she heard Xia’s soft crying in the background and Bolin’s failed attempts at soothing her. She hung up and gave Korra an apologetic look. “I’ll be back, okay? Then we can talk?”

“Asami, really, I’m fine,” Korra said, holding her sternly by the shoulders. “I’m just tired after that long run and need to take a nap. Go hang out with your friends for a little while.”

Asami wanted to argue, but then Korra gave her another easy smile. Less forced, but still something hiding behind it.

“Fine,” she submitted. “I still don’t believe you and I’m going to force it out of you later, but fine.”

“Sounds kinky.” Korra wiggled her brows.

Chuckling, Asami gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “Always with your mind in the gutter. I’ll see you later.”

When Korra nodded, Asami turned and headed back downstairs. She didn’t know what was going on with her girlfriend, but she would pick her battles. Right now, a screaming infant with a dirty diaper demanded her attention the most.

* * *

The rest of Opal’s family arrived at 5pm sharp. Opal’s father walked into the house first, followed by Wing and Wei. When the twins saw Korra and Asami, they gave sly smirks, but the one icy look Korra gave had them turning their attention elsewhere. Aside from the eldest brother who didn’t live there, there was one more brother if Korra remembered correctly, but he’d apparently been off taking summer classes at some art school in L.A.

Lin and Toph were the last people to arrive, with Lin guiding her mother up to the house. Asami kindly held the door wide open for them both to get through and said hello.

They were about to pass Korra, who said nothing, but then Toph stopped just in front of her.

“Your intensity amuses me, aura girl,” she said. “You’re practically oozing with it.”

Korra didn’t hide her surprise and glanced at Lin, who only waited for Korra to respond so they could head into the dining room with the others. She swallowed.

“Actually, my name is Korra,” she said.

Toph laughed and patted Lin on the arm, her way of telling her daughter to proceed forward.

“You’re interesting, aura girl. You should sit close to me,” she said.

When they walked away, Korra turned to Asami and gave her a look, gesturing with her arms to showcase her point of how weird the two older women were.

Asami only offered an affirming nod and took Korra by the arm, similar to the way Lin did with Toph and led her to the dining room.

After the greetings and cooing over the baby simmered, they all sat down at the table that stretched out long enough to fit even more people if they wanted. Opal stuck around for about 20 minutes before heading off to the bedroom with Xia, stating her exhaustion and needing to lie down for a while.

Still, the family remained in good spirits, just happy to be together. There were three separate conversations happening at once, but Korra sat there quietly. Not out of shyness or antisocial tendencies, but because there were just a lot of things on her mind—Or rather, one _big_ thing.

She wanted to tell Asami about it and almost did earlier in the day. But with Opal, the baby, and everything else going on around them, she didn’t want to be another thing Asami needed to worry about right now. Like Senna told her, it could wait and she had plenty of time to make up her mind. Just like it took Tonraq plenty of years to make up his mind.

“So Asami and Korra, how long have you guys been dating?” Su asked, snapping Korra out of it.

“About eight months,” Asami answered.

“That’s wonderful. You guys seem very happy together.”

“Seem? They practically had their tongues down each other’s throats yesterday,” Wei said, making his twin burst into laughter and slap him on the shoulder.

 _“Boys…”_ Su warned.

Asami dipped her head, suddenly finding her tomato basil soup the most interesting thing in the world, and Korra looked elsewhere. Her eyes just so happened to land on Mako. The conversation from his end of the table died down as everyone listened for her and Asami to answer Su’s question. He kept his jaw locked as he moved his food around the dish, stabbing at his steak.

Bolin walked back into the room after leaving for a moment to check on Opal and Xia.

“Okay, what’d I miss?” He asked nonchalantly as he sat down next to Asami and across from Mako. He looked up when no one spoke right away. “What?”

A couple of laughs rang out at the awkward moment, but then mini conversations started back up again. Across from Korra, she watched Lin help cut Toph’s food and say something to her in Chinese, using a quiet tone. Toph only sat back, her arms folded, and didn’t appear to be listening. She had her head pointed in Korra’s direction instead.

“Bolin, _please_ tell us you recorded Dillashaw vs Chan Sung Jung on Sunday,” Wing said in a pleading tone. The topic immediately caught Korra’s attention.

“Oh! You bet your ass I did!” Bolin said excitedly, then quickly apologized for his language in front of the older adults. “I still haven’t watched it myself, but Chan Sung Jung is _masterful_. Almost a decade in and one of the most durable I’ve seen.”

“His Twister submission is insane,” Wei chimed in.

“Grandma T, it’s awesome! I wish you could see it,” Wing said, leaning into his plate and putting his elbows on the table to get a good look at Toph. “It’s a bunch of limb tangling and it’s like 10 seconds away from a neck snap.”

“Hm. Sounds like child’s play,” Toph commented with a scoff.

“I am so sorry about them,” Su said apologetically, looking at both Korra and Asami. “They’re all a bunch of sports junkies.”

“We don’t mind at all,” Asami assured her.

“Oh, are you guys fans of UFC as well?”

“No,” Korra said before Asami could answer.

Toph snorted. “That’s a weird thing to lie about.”

“Mother!” Su’s head snapped to her, then she quickly turned to Korra. “You’ll have to excuse my mouthy children and my mother’s rudeness. I promise they’re not always this misbehaved.”

“Speak for them,” Toph said, putting her hands behind her head. She seemed a lot more interested in the conversation now. “So, how often do you watch, _Korra?"_

Gritting her teeth, Korra couldn’t hide her flustered expression. What was _with_ this lady? And if Korra lied again, would she know? _How_ did she even know?

“We watch whenever we have the time,” Asami stepped in, and in addition placed her hand on Korra’s knee.

“Since when have you been a UFC fan?” Mako asked. It was the first time he’d spoken directly to Asami since the hospital argument.

“A while,” Asami said dryly, refusing to look in his direction. But Korra saw the way he glanced between them, a thick layer of confusion on his face. “So, Toph, you seem to know a lot about it yourself,” she said, a smart way of diverging the subject. 

“A little bit. I actually owned my own underground dojo in the 60s. Trained a bunch of young blind students.”

“That’s amazing,” Asami complimented, earning a simple shrug from Toph.

“Ugh, I remember those days,” Su said with a groan. “Lin was as bossy as ever.”

“Because you never got your chores done,” Lin said, still eating.

“I resent that. You just always thought everything needed to be done the exact second mom said to do them.”

“With an attention span as short as yours back then, things needed to get done that quickly.”

“Or you’re just a mama’s girl. How about that?”

“Oh, you two, simmer down,” Toph quieted them. “You guys still bicker like teenagers, that’s for damn sure.”

Wei and Wing, who’d been whispering back and forth suddenly got up from the table.

“And where do you boys think you’re going?” Su asked.

“We’re gonna watch the fight. Is that cool?” Wing asked, but both brothers made the same hopeful face.

“Your mother just made a wonderful dinner for everyone, boys. Mind your manners,” Baatar said.

Su sighed and made a shooing motion with her hands. “No, they seem to have already made their minds up anyway. Go on.”

The twins fist bumped, then practically tripped over each other to get to the family room.

They all resumed eating, although Korra had a hard time releasing the tension out of her body. She half expected Toph to make a comment about it.

“Mako, I haven’t had the chance to say it formally, but congrats on breaking that major case back in January,” Lin said.

Korra felt the grip on her leg, but she kept her head down, choosing to remain calm. From the corner of her eye, she also saw Bolin hesitate before taking a bite of his food. The atmosphere in the room, while awkward before, didn’t completely shift into uncharted territory as it did just then.

“Thanks,” Mako mumbled and took a long sip of his wine. 

“What tipped you off that something odd was going on?”

Lin’s questions, while innocent, introduced a wave of panic in Asami from what Korra felt beside her. She knew very well that her girlfriend couldn’t put a wall over her emotions so quickly. With every question Lin asked, and every reply Mako gave, her panic would only worsen.

"I took notice of how quickly Raiko's company was on the rise. When I realized that I'd met him a long time ago, I noticed the Hiroshi connection instantly. It kind of snowballed from there." 

"How long did it take you to dig up enough information to bust him?" 

“Several months. I thought it’d been a dead end, but I received an anonymous tip that kind of helped a lot.”

“Ahh, I’ve received a lot of those in my days," Lin said, sounding nostalgic. "Whoever it was must’ve had their hands in a couple of pots in order to have that kind of information.”

“There’s a lot of people with their hands in things where they don't belong," Mako said. 

Korra refrained from narrowing her eyes. Though the bitterness in his voice didn’t show, those words were clearly meant to hurt.

Lin chuckled. “You’ll stumble across a lot of those people, so you should definitely prepare yourself. Also, I heard you were a final candidate for the position in DC. I’m looking forward to seeing up close the work you can do, especially with such a big case already under your belt.”

Asami’s spoon noticeably stopped moving against her bowl.

Mako cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. “Thanks.”

“Wait what?” Bolin asked, glancing around in confusion before looking across the table at his brother for an explanation. “What’s she talking about?”

“I applied for a full-time detective gig at this private investigation agency. I’ve had two interviews, and the final one’s coming up in a few weeks.”

“Why am I only just now hearing about this?” Bolin asked, unable to mask the hurt in his tone.

“I was going to wait and see if I got the job first.”

“What are your chances of taking it if you get it?”

“Pretty high right now.”

A large amount of relief slapped Korra in the chest, but it didn’t last for very long when she turned and saw the look on Asami’s face. In fact, her heart sank.

“You’re leaving New York?” Asami asked.

Mako didn’t meet her gaze. “If given the opportunity, yes.”

“But what about your grandma? The rest of your family? Your friends?”

 _You,_ Korra thought. That was what it all boiled down to. Asami didn’t have to say it for her to hear it.

“I’ll keep in touch with whomever I need to be in touch with,” Mako said.

Asami’s expression hardened. But even with that cold stare, Mako refused to look her way.

“Who wants pie?” Su cut in excitedly, not reading the room in the slightest. “That’s the perfect way to celebrate Mako’s future job offer because we all know you’ll get it.”

Several agreements and expressions of congrats were thrown Mako’s way from around the table. Asami kept quiet. She wiped her mouth with her napkin and dropped it on the table.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” she muttered and got up.

Korra gave a short nod and watched her girlfriend get up from the table. Her eyes weren’t the only ones on her either. With a glance, she saw Mako staring after her as well, appearing frustrated and maybe even the slightest bit guilty.

Taking a few quiet breaths, Korra refused to let her mind wander to those less than pleasant and reckless thoughts. She didn’t want to think about Asami’s strong emotional reaction to this revelation, what it meant, what would happen if Mako really took the job and left, and how Asami would process it.

Instead, she picked up her fork and resumed eating.


	6. The Hearts That Weighed So Heavy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [guessillperish](https://guessillperish.tumblr.com/post/617065361783898112/hey-everyone-im-working-on-the-second-6-character) for drawing this wonderful artwork of chapter 3! I'm so happy you all enjoyed it as much as I did. 
> 
> And also thank you to [bijnaam](https://bijnaam.tumblr.com/post/617604137513795584/i-have-been-on-a-korrasami-binge-and-i-recently) for this hot af drawing of my beefy Korra. *fans self*

Asami took several deep breaths as she paced around the small space of the guest bathroom. She’d been trying to gain her composure back for the past ten minutes now, but every time she made an attempt to head back into the dining room, her hand froze on the doorknob.

How could she go back in there and pretend that everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t?

Even though she and Mako had been distant for several months now, she still thought he would’ve had the decency to make her aware of what was going on. Did their 14-year long friendship suddenly mean nothing to him anymore? She could easily think of several occasions where they’d fallen out over the years, but on none of those occasions did either of them even consider the thought of making such a decision without informing the other. Even before Asami went off to college and she’d been so broken up about Korra, she still made an effort to seek Mako out and tell him about her plans to follow her father’s career path.

She knew she shouldn’t have felt so hurt and betrayed. After all, Mako stopped being the first person she thought of to spill everything to a long time ago. Yet still… she felt both of those things at once.

He might as well have had his bags packed and a one-way flight booked already in Asami’s eyes. If they’d already grown apart this much, him moving out of state would put the final nail in the coffin for them as friends. They’d really be done.

After another sharp inhale, she opened the bathroom door and headed back to the table. She could hear Wei and Wing from the family room, shouting at the television, but none of what they said could reach her ears. When she got back to the dining room and took her seat beside Korra, she didn’t utter a single word for the rest of the time.

She felt so beside herself, stressed and anxious about where things would go from here and how different they would be. When Opal and Bolin decided they were moving away, she just about locked herself in her office for an entire week, overworking herself to avoid falling into a steep pit of depression. She’d been happy for them, but the thought of never seeing them again on a daily basis hurt her more than she could ever express without making them feel guilty. And now another component of that imperfect picture of the family she created on her own was possibly leaving, but this time it looked to be a true permanent loss.

 _Why_ did it have to be like this? She thought giving Mako his space as he requested would eventually lead to them finding their way back to each other again as friends. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Her sadness merged with anger, and quickly after it led to her being filled with so much unshakeable resentment. She couldn’t see or hear anything else except her blood boiling.

The conversations kept going on around the table, however the atmosphere seemed the slightest bit dampened for the younger adults compared to the older ones. Su chatted away with Bataar and Lin, Lin somewhat entertaining her sister’s outspoken thoughts and opinions. Bolin didn’t talk much either unless he was spoken to, and of course Korra, Mako and Asami remained the quietest.

At one point, Korra’s hand fell on Asami’s knee and, for a moment, everything and every troublesome thought Asami had began to wither away. But then she took one glance in Mako’s direction and everything materialized once again. She kept her trembling hands in her lap, continuing to remain quiet, and trying her best to not let her negative energy spread out around the table. She only wanted it to spread to one single person.

Despite Mako trying his best to ignore her, she knew he could feel her cold stare. She _begged_ him to look at her, to have the courage to look her in the eyes and show no remorse in front of everyone, but it never came. Instead, he remained in his chair, smiling politely whenever he had a compliment thrown his way or Su (who was edging near tipsy from the amount of wine she had) kept showering him with praise and showing excitement over his next “incredible endeavor.”

It went on that way for the next 20 minutes, but once Mako finished eating, he excused himself, went to the kitchen to wash off his plate, and then headed down to the basement without another word.

Su, Bataar, and Lin continued their conversation as they began to clean up. But once Su started knocking over things accidentally, both Lin and Bataar took matters into their own hands and led Su out of the kitchen before she broke something. It just left Asami, Bolin, Korra and Toph sitting there in the aftermath of it all.

“Asami, what the hell is going on?” Bolin asked quietly. “When did he even decide this?”

“I don’t know,” Asami said, looking in the direction Mako disappeared. “You really had no idea?”

“I knew that a couple of agencies were reaching out to him, but he kept turning them down. Other than that, I didn’t have a clue.”

There were footsteps headed back to the dining room again.

“Geez, Lin, you sure know how to get these kids going,” Toph said, her shoulders shaking as she chuckled.

“What’s that?” Lin asked, walking over and picking up Toph’s plate after asking if she was finished.

“How long did you know Mako was interested in getting that job?” Bolin asked her.

“A few months, I think. He asked me if I knew any agencies in Washington, DC and I got him an interview.”

“Months?” Bolin repeated, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly. And honestly, Asami felt the same way.

“Yes, he expressed to me that New York wasn’t cutting it for him anymore and that he thought he’d do better elsewhere… I didn’t know he was keeping it a secret from you all,” Lin said, an apology without having to use the words.

“That doesn’t sound like him,” Bolin said, looking at Asami.

“Because it isn’t,” she replied.

“Oh, I’m bored already with this drama,” Toph said, scooting her chair back and reaching for her cane on the wall, missing it by an inch. Lin quietly moved it over into her hand. “Lin, I’ll be out by the car. You can drop me off before you head to the airport.”

“You already want to leave?” Lin asked, though not entirely shocked.

“I only came for the meal anyway. Although,” Toph looked back in Korra and Asami’s direction, a sly smile playing on her face. “I will say we haven’t had such interesting guests in a while. But I’ve apparently already said enough for one day. Take it easy, ladies. Especially you, aura girl.”

She slowly made her way out of the room, with Lin following after her a minute later, giving a short goodbye to them all.

“Bolin, what are you going to do?” Asami asked when it was just the three of them at the table.

“What am I supposed to do? Clearly this is what he wants,” Bolin said.

“But we both know he’s only doing this out of anger. He would never make a decision like that without telling you at least.”

“I just really don’t think I can handle another big bombshell right now,” Bolin said with an irritated huff and then got up. Grabbing his plate, he began to clear the table of the last few remaining dishes.

It was clear he had no intentions of going to talk to his older brother, and Asami respected that. Bolin had a lot thrown on him in such a short amount of time and he didn’t need any more pressure. But if he couldn’t bring it to himself to voice his concerns and frustrations with Mako, then someone else needed to be there to set him straight.

Asami turned to Korra, prepared to voice her intentions, but Korra stopped her.

“I’m going to help clean up,” she said, getting up as well.

“Korra, wait…” Asami said, grabbing her by the arm.

“It’s fine, Asami,” Korra said, not sounding pleased or upset, which worried Asami even more. “Do whatever you think you need to do.”

After cupping her cheek briefly, she walked off to the sink to help Bolin with the dishes.

Asami didn’t move right away. Instead, her foot bounced up and down uncontrollably. She was being pulled in different directions, it seemed, an unmistakable sense of déjà vu hitting her. But this time, she knew in her heart where she wanted to be, what her heart cried out for the most and begged her to do, but regrettably she went in the opposite direction.

She got up and walked out of the dining room and through the kitchen. When she opened the door to the basement, she didn’t give herself another second to rethink her decision before heading downstairs.

She found Mako sitting there on the couch looking at the flat screen television hooked up to the wall, though his mind seemed elsewhere. When he finally noticed someone standing there, he looked over his shoulder, but seeing that it was only her, he turned away.

“I don’t want to talk,” he said.

“Too bad, because I do.”

“Asami—”

“Why are you doing this? You love working in New York. And now what? You’re just going to leave? Are you really that pissed at me? Were you even going to _tell_ me?”

“Don’t start this.”

“Start what?”

“You can’t always get what you want,” Mako said, standing up. “You can’t push me away, act like I don’t exist for months, and then come to me on a guilt trip because you don’t want anybody to leave you. It doesn’t work that way in reality. People leave and move on to better things. And if you can’t deal with that, that’s on you.”

His cold words matched his icy expression and Asami’s chest hurt. He was throwing all of her issues and hang ups back in her face and didn’t seem to give a damn.

“I never pushed you away. That was _you_ who did that,” she pointed at him. “I never wanted anything to change between us. I thought we could finally move on and get past what happened last year, but for some reason you just don’t want to let it go.”

“I’m not going to let it go because if you were really my friend you would’ve told me the truth a long time ago. It wouldn’t be so easy for you to lie straight to my face or keep choosing this person who’s clearly changed you for the worse.”

“God, just stop it!” Asami yelled at him, clenching the sides of her head in frustration. “Stop putting the blame on her for my mistakes, stop talking about my relationship as if you have any clue what goes on between us. I’m not some damsel in distress who’s being mind controlled. I’m not going down any kind of dark path because I’m with her. These delusions you have need to _stop_.”

“Call me delusional all you want, but the lies always catch up with you in the end. In fact, they already have.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Asami asked in a blend of outrage and puzzlement.

“Remember last year? I think it was around September or early October? You called me asking if you could come up to the station so we could have lunch together...”

Asami froze, the only movement coming from the rapid beating in her chest that started up.

“You casually started asking me questions about work and my caseload,” Mako continued, folding his arms. “And I remember you randomly asking me a couple of questions about my interest in busting fight clubs around the area even though I hadn’t brought that up in a long time.”

“I-I don’t remember that—”

“Cut the crap already!” Mako said, walking toward her. “I can’t believe I’m just now putting two and two together, but I have, and it’s over, Asami. A month after you were poking around my office, Korra magically appeared in your life again with a busted face, and it’s because of that, isn’t it? She’s part of an illegal fight club, and whoever’s handling her is the one in the black market who gave you that information on Raiko.”

“No, she’s not,” Asami said, shaking her head in denial. It suddenly felt way too hot, like there wasn’t enough room for the both of them in that large space.

Mako only returned her gaze with disappointment in his eyes.

“And this is exactly why things will never be the same between us. You pushed me away the day you let her back into your life because you knew you needed to protect her… Maybe you weren’t wrong to do that after all.”

“W-wait, what are you talking about?” Asami stopped Mako by the arm as he turned, feeling panicked and nauseous at the same time. “What do you mean?”

Mako didn’t turn to her immediately, but when he finally did, his cold expression went away, being replaced with a look of hurt.

“I’m not going to be bogged down by this anymore. I’ve already done so many things this past year that have gone against everything I stand for. I can’t feel like this anymore.”

“Mako,” Asami said warningly. “Whatever it is you’re thinking, _don’t._ You have no idea what’s really going on.”

“And you want to know what hurts the most?” Mako said. “I let this happen. I let it get this far the day I turned that information in. I knew the consequences, but because of the loyalty I had to you, I thought I was doing the right thing. I guess I was just too stupid to believe you’d give me that same loyalty and trust in return. Instead, you just continued to lie to me and go on with your life as if you didn’t care about how badly you affected mine. You lost nothing, and I lost my best friend.”

“That’s not true,” Asami said, shaking her head and fighting back her tears. “You told me to give you space, and that’s what I did.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. You’ve clearly made your choice from the beginning about where you stand, even if it means losing the people who’ve been there with you for so long. At least I know I can’t blame myself for that.”

Asami felt a jab from every single word deep inside her chest. She was so sad; so _mad_. Mad because every venomous word he uttered seemed so true. _She_ did this. Whether it was out of the best intentions or not. It was her fault.

“I’m not going to apologize for being with her; for falling in _love_ with her,” Asami said, her voice quaking.

Mako nodded, but his body language and facial expressions became more closed off.

“I’m not asking you to,” he spoke in a whisper. “Just stop thinking there aren’t any consequences for that.”

He turned away from her, forcing Asami to stare at the rigid muscles in his back, and Asami did for a while. She stared at this one person who used to mean everything in the world to her, who she would have done anything for, who she would seek out solely for the warmth of his presence. But now she only felt cold standing there with him, and no amount of sun would unthaw her from it.

With angry, bitter tears in her eyes, she ran back upstairs.

* * *

“Wait, he’s _what?”_

Opal looked between Bolin and Korra as if they both lost their minds. She was currently in the midst of giving Xia a feed, the baby sleeping as she suckled, her hand closed into a tight fist.

“Yup. I guess NYC got a little too overpopulated for him, so now he’s moving on to the next overpopulated city in the northeast,” Bolin said sarcastically. He went to the other side of the bed and picked up Pabu, who’d been slumbering in his spot, to lie down himself. The ferret relaxed on top of his chest.

“And he’s known about this for months and didn’t tell anyone?” Opal asked.

“No. Lin of all people blurted it out.”

Korra didn’t realize how upset Bolin had been until Mako left the dining room. He seemed half supportive of his brother’s new opportunity, and half pissed at his lack of confidence in him.

“Why don’t you go and talk to him about it? I’m sure he didn’t mean to shut you out,” Opal said encouragingly.

“Asami’s with him right now,” Korra said, trying to keep any and all emotion out of her tone, but apparently some managed to slip in because Opal glanced her way briefly, her brows knitting.

“All I'm saying is that ever since we moved it feels like no one wants to tell me anything. Especially him,” Bolin complained. “We always said that if one of us left, the other would be there for grandma, because there’s no way in hell she would ever leave New York. She loves it there too much.”

“Well, Washington, DC isn’t _that_ far away,” Opal said.

“It still doesn’t change the fact that he promised me that. It’s why I felt so confident about moving out here to begin with. He doesn’t get to just decide these things without at least consulting with me first.”

“That’s a common trait amongst older siblings. Go work it out with him and let him know how you’re feeling. You know he’s a softie when it comes to you.” She used her less occupied arm to lightly shove Bolin out of the bed. "Go on." 

Bolin got up and sat Pabu back down before walking out, giving Korra a pat on the shoulder as he passed.

“You’ve really got a handle on him,” Korra offered once they were alone.

“Asami calls it my superpower,” Opal said, giving a shrug.

Korra nodded. She wasn’t sure what to do now. She and Opal didn’t have much interaction since the first night at the hospital. Plus, her boob was out and occupied at the moment.

“You’re staring.”

Korra blinked and then a blush crept up her cheeks and she rubbed the back of her neck. “Y-yeah. Sorry. That doesn’t hurt, does it?”

Opal smirked. “If it did that would mean I was doing something wrong.”

“Right,” Korra said with a nod and then looked elsewhere. When her awkwardness became too much, she pointed to the door behind her and began to tread backward. “I think I’m just going to head to bed now. Long flight tomorrow.”

“Korra,” Opal called out. Korra paused and then turned around. She saw Opal patting the spot beside her. “Come. Sit.”

Taking another look at the open door, Korra tentatively abided and went over to the bed. As she sat down, placing Pabu into her lap, she noticed the way Opal’s eyes stayed on her the entire time.

“I feel like we haven’t gotten a chance to have a heart to heart yet,” Opal said.

“A heart to heart about what?”

“I don’t know. Just anything. Asami says you’re a good person to talk to, as well as a good listener.”

“I try to be,” Korra said, distracting herself by smoothing out Pabu’s hair.

“She also tells me how hard it is for you to open up to people.”

Korra looked up, meeting Opal’s patient and understanding expression.

“Sorry, I’m not trying to be rude,” Korra apologized. “It’s… It’s just been a long day.”

“It’s okay. I’m not offended.” Opal shifted Xia in her arms. “I know these past couple of days must’ve been a little weird. Coming to this place you’ve never been before, meeting me and my wacky family…”

“Yeah, does your grandma have a sixth sense or something? She’s been going on and on about my aura for whatever reason.”

Opal burst into laughter. “That silly grandmother of mine. Though, technically that would be her fifth sense, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh, r-right. My bad.”

Again, Opal laughed. “It’s fine. My grandma teases us all the time whenever we slip up like that.”

“So… Her comments about me then… They’re not a bad thing?”

“No, definitely not. She uses that little technique to size people up. If she gets a vibe that your aura is weak, she’ll leave you alone, but if she senses strength or intensity, she’ll show her interest a lot more and challenge you. It’s a compliment if anything.”

“I see.”

“But aside from that,” Opal said, gaining Korra’s attention again. “Has everything else been okay? I know being here with Mako had the potential of getting awkward.”

Korra sighed and crossed her ankles. “Yeah…”

“And I’m guessing Asami’s not taking Mako’s bombshell well either.”

Korra knew that Opal wasn’t asking because she lacked understanding. She was asking to give Korra the opportunity to share her feelings in a non-pestering, respectful way. But even still, Korra couldn’t possibly express her disappointment and sadness to Asami’s best friend of all people, could she?

“It makes sense why she’d be upset,” Korra said after a deciding moment. “She hates it when people leave her and he’s still a big part of her life.”

“Right…” Opal spoke in a hushed tone. “You know, Asami’s definitely right about you. You show a lot of class about this entire situation,” she complimented, however her words felt unfinished. Then Korra realized the young mother was waiting for her to meet her gaze. “… But it’s okay if you can’t show that all of the time. As her girlfriend, you’re allowed not to like it.”

Korra didn’t expect the words to hit her as hard as they did. But from the phone call with her mom to this current situation, she needed some sort of validation for her feelings; to know that she _wasn’t_ wrong.

“Seeing her go after him like that… It brings up a lot of bad memories,” Korra confessed, looking down. “I know it shouldn’t, and I know that she’s with me now and that I make her happy. But even though my heart knows how much she loves me, there’s a part of me that is always going to be insecure when it comes to her relationship with him. It’ll probably even always hurt a little bit.”

Admitting it caused more sadness to emerge, but it still felt good to say out loud for once. So many times in the past eight months had she taken the high road. Asami didn’t cry on her shoulder often about Mako and kept her complaints about him minimal, but Korra knew she was way more upset about it than she let on. And that all came out during this trip. She could never be angry with Asami about it or make her feel bad for still caring so deeply about Mako, but it wasn’t easy either to watch it all unfold. 

“Listen, Asami’s told me a lot about what happened with all of you guys in the past, so I know there’s a lot of history there,” Opal told her. “And honestly? I really don’t know how I’d react if I were in your shoes and Bolin was still close to one of his exes. What I _can_ say, though, is that Mako and Asami remind me of my brothers and myself. They get pissed and yell at each other, but it all comes from a place of wanting what’s best for one another.”

“Yeah, but the only problem is that he sees me as what’s not best for her,” Korra said.

“Have you ever thought that maybe deep down he knows that’s not true?” Opal asked.

Korra snorted. “Not even. He’s too deep seated in his hatred for me to even consider that thought.”

“And what do you think?”

“About what?”

“Do you think you’re what’s best for her?”

Korra, caught off guard by the question, took a long time to respond. “I... I know she’s what’s best for me.”

Opal paused, staring at her for a long time. “I’m going to provide you with some advice based on just these very few interactions we’ve had, and if I'm wrong just ignore me, okay?”

“Sure.”

“You have more of a positive effect on people than you realize, but you'll never understand that until you start believing in yourself more,” Opal said, her tone matter of fact.

Korra stared back, her eyes wavering. Such a simple statement seeped right down into the core of her inner turmoil. She looked away, afraid that if she stared at Opal any longer, she’d easily pinpoint more of her faults.

“I think you’re right,” she quietly agreed.

“And… I don’t know if this means anything to you, or if you even care, but I think you’re more than good enough for her.”

Korra noticed the shyness in Opal’s voice as she said that, which—in retrospect—was hilarious considering she had one of her boobs out.

“That means a lot, actually,” Korra said, looking over and giving her a warm smile.

Opal smiled back and glanced down at Xia momentarily, brushing back her soft black curls.

“You know… For as long as I’ve known Asami, she’s never been that open about her romantic relationships. I think the last one she ever came close to taking seriously was…” she paused to think.

“Iroh?” Korra asked.

“Ah, yes. Iroh. Wait, she told you about him?” Opal’s head snapped back to her.

“He attended the fundraiser event and we sort of ran into each other.”

“Oh my. Ghost of Boyfriends Past much? But Iroh’s an A class gentleman. One of those guys who still uses the word ‘courting’ in a sentence.”

Korra nodded. She always imagined a guy like that vying for Asami’s attention, seeing her value and her power. But it didn’t upset her. Asami deserved to have that recognition from anyone. It just made her want to try even harder to be the only one who could meet all of Asami’s needs.

“You said she never really talked about her past relationships with anyone. Why do you think that is?” Korra asked after giving it a moment of thought.

“I don’t know. Because deep down she knew they’d never work out? Even with Iroh, I could tell it wouldn’t work because she saw him as a security blanket more than a lover. There was never that glimmer in her eyes or excitement in her voice when she spoke about those guys. Not like the way she talks about you… and _god_ , the way she talks about you…”

A spark of warmth spread through Korra’s abdomen at Opal’s commentary. It filled all the way up into her chest, and she had to take a moment to just let it _._ It was a feeling she needed to always remember at times like this where her insecurities would threaten all of the progress she made.

“Thank you,” she eventually said. “I’m really happy Asami still has a friend like you who’s so…”

“Not as batshit insane as the rest?” Opal guessed.

Korra smiled. “I was going to say wonderful and understanding, but that also works, too.”

Opal’s laughter rang out around the room, causing Xia to stir and make a small noise, but she never unlatched.

“Well, thank you. And you have met every expectation of mine and then some. Also, your hotness factor is way over the charts. I think I may even have a bit of a girl crush on you, actually.”

Korra let out a surprised laugh. “Oh yeah?”

“Yup. I guess my husband _did_ have good taste back then after all.”

“Whoa, wait, huh?” Korra asked, her brow now twitching in confusion.

Opal gave Korra’s arm a pat as she chuckled.

“Oh, Korra, my friend. This is going to be a really fun friendship…”

* * *

Korra walked back upstairs thirty minutes later after a long talk with Opal. It was nice to finally have a conversation with her alone despite how wary she felt at first. But she should’ve expected it would be easy. She was Asami’s best friend after all.

And speaking of her girlfriend, Korra found her face down in the bed, hugging a pillow to her face. Although the lights were out and long shadows danced across the room, the low sun still peeked through the curtains, providing some light.

A dreadful churning developed in the pit of Korra’s gut at the notion that Mako could still make Asami feel this way. She was half inclined to go downstairs and finally give him the ass kicking he had coming to him for a while now. The other part of her felt frustrated seeing how Asami continued to let him get to her; have such a pull on her. She thought back to Opal’s words, remembering that it was okay to feel that way, but now she came face to face with this image, and having those feelings not only made her feel guilty, but also selfish.

She closed the door behind her and walked up to the bed. Crawling on top of the freshly cleaned sheets, she settled herself practically on top of Asami, wrapping an arm around her torso and hugging her close.

“Hey,” she whispered, placing kisses on the shell of Asami's ear, then moving some hair out of the way to gain access to her neck. She heard a mumbled greeting back and chuckled. “Wanna talk about it?” she asked. Asami didn’t respond. In fact, she barely responded to any of Korra’s affection. “Asami? What’s wrong? You can tell me.” There was another mumble into the pillow, but Korra couldn’t quite understand it. “What?”

Asami turned her face away from the pillow. “I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to tell me?” Korra rose up and looked down at Asami, regarding her oddity, but Asami couldn’t see her expression because her face was turned off to the side. “Why not?”

“Because…”

“Because _why?”_ Getting annoyed, she forced Asami to turn onto her back and look at her finally. What she saw shattered her heart. Asami’s eyes were red as fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “Asami…” She went to cradle her face, but Asami turned her head, avoiding her touch.

“Korra, please… just don’t, okay? You don’t need to comfort me over every single thing,” she said.

“What the hell are you saying? Of course I do!” Korra said, outraged by that remark.

“Just leave it alone,” Asami begged, trying to turn on her stomach again.

“No. I’m not taking that as an answer.” Korra grabbed Asami’s left wrist. “I’m giving you no other choice but to tell me. In fact, I’m calling bracelet right now.”

Asami's eyes squeezed shut, more tears falling, and she hiccupped. “You can’t call bracelet on me. That’s only for you.”

“Well I’m making it a rule for the both of us now,” Korra said, fiddling with the piece of jewelry. “Come on. Out with it. What did that bastard do to upset you this much? Do you want me to kill him?”

Asami still kept her eyes shut but shook her head violently. “It’s not about him.”

“Who else would it be about then?” Korra asked, confused. She waited for almost a minute before Asami’s eyes opened again, but still, she refused to meet Korra’s gaze. She seemed afraid to, even. But from that simple inclination, a moment of realization hit Korra like a ton of bricks and her eyes widened in horror. Who was the only person who could make her cry like this? The only person who could, in Mako’s words, hurt her the most where it counted? The idea of Asami hurting so much over an ex-boyfriend may have felt bad, but Korra forgot how Asami hurting over her made her world crumble. “You were listening outside the door, weren’t you?”

Asami didn’t speak right away, her bottom lip wobbling. She turned her head. “Yeah…”

"How much did you hear?" 

"Enough." 

Korra put her fingers under Asami’s chin, trying to get her to look up. “Asami, I’m so sor—”

“No. I don’t want you to apologize,” Asami said, her eyes finally raising to meet hers. Her look became stern even though more tears threatened to fall. “I need you to be honest with me. Do you think I don’t respect you or this relationship enough? Do you think I’m doubting my commitment to you? I'm asking because I need to know what I can do to make you see that I’m not.”

“God no. It’s not anything like that, I swear,” Korra shook her head. “It’s me. It’s my own insecurities. I know that you would never hurt me like that.”

“But I _am._ That’s the problem.” The back of Asami’s hands rose to her forehead and she let out a frustrated cry. “This is so fucked. Why is everything I do so _wrong?_ Why is it always my fault?”

“It’s not.” Korra held Asami’s face in her hands and wiped away her tears. “Don’t blame yourself for any of this.”

“Who the hell else am I going to blame then, huh?” Asami dropped her hands and stared up at her. Her pained, frustrated expression might as well have torn Korra’s heart out right then and there. “Mako's leaving because of me. I got him involved with a situation that I created. And you... You’ve been so strong for me. You’ve held back any feelings you have about this _because_ of me. And I knew it, too. You don’t deserve that, and I don’t deserve you.”

“Asami, stop,” Korra told her, angered and wounded by those words more than anything else she’d ever heard before. “I don’t ever want to hear you say anything like that again, okay? _Ever.”_

Asami’s breathing stuttered, and she shook violently while trying to catch it. Staring up at Korra with regret, she broke down again.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry,” she spoke repeatedly.

Korra shushed her sobs by pulling her in by the back of her head and letting Asami cry into her shoulder.

“It’s a complicated situation, but you don’t need to apologize for missing your friend. I would never want you to stop being the caring, gentle, most loving person that you are,” Korra whispered. “And don’t shut me out from those feelings because you think that’s what I want. We should be able to talk through this together from now on, no matter what.”

Asami pulled away, but then she clutched the front of Korra’s t-shirt and stared into her eyes with desperation written in hers. “I’m _yours,”_ she said in a broken voice.

Korra nodded. “I know.”

“I’m not going to let anything come between us, or anyone take you away from me. Including him. If he tries anything, I swear on my life I will _end_ him.”

“Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

“He knows about you. He figured it out.”

Korra took a deep breath and released it. “You’re sure?”

“I’m positive. I don’t know what he’s going to do now, but he’s made it clear that the gloves are off.”

“Okay.” Korra nodded. “I’ll figure it out then.”

“But—”

“I’ll figure it out, Asami,” Korra said again and wiped away another tear. “He can’t possibly know everything, and he doesn’t have any legitimate proof. It’ll be fine.”

“How do you know? What if—”

Korra shushed her again and pulled her into a kiss. She heard Asami whimper into it and clutch her even closer.

“I just do,” Korra said when they pulled apart. “This isn’t something you need to worry about right now. I’ll take care of it. Nothing bad is going to happen to me, okay? Repeat it back to me.”

“Nothing bad will happen to you,” Asami stuttered between hitched breaths.

Korra went onto her side and made Asami turn into her. She held her girlfriend’s shaking body and continued to calmly shush her. When Asami quieted, they ended up just holding each other there, limbs entangled, and stealing multiple kisses on the lips, shoulders, and neck. Quiet ‘I love you’s’ passed between them, and through every exchange, Korra’s heart throbbed until it soared.

They were both so foolish, continuing not to recognize that the hurt they could potentially place on each other outclassed any other suffering they would go through. But it was okay. They would continue to grow together, learn from these experiences, and change for the better while still never faltering in the love they had for each other. It would take time. It would probably even take forever. But Korra never felt more prepared for something involving their future than ever before.

A long time passed before either of them spoke again, the last gleam of sunlight leaving the room.

“I think I’m ready to go home now,” Asami said.

“Lucky for you our flight’s at noon tomorrow,” Korra reminded her, rubbing circles into her back.

“This has been the longest day ever, it feels.”

“You can say that again.”

“I see now why you were so paranoid about Lin and Toph.”

“Told ya. The old lady must have some type of mini lie detector hidden on her at all times. That shit was creepy.”

Asami chuckled for the first time, though it was a weak one. “I don’t know. Opal did say that growing up with them was difficult because she could never get away with anything. I guess that’s what she meant. Her family are human lie detectors.”

“If that's the case, Mako must be well-trained in lying from how casual and calm he was earlier when Lin asked about Raiko.”

“He’s had a while to perfect that lie,” Asami said, her somber tone returning. 

“And I’m guessing he’s been around Opal’s family long enough to get around their perceptiveness... What an interesting family,” Korra said, but bringing up that quirky family dynamic made her think of her own and she sighed.

"What’s wrong?" Asami asked. 

“Nothing,” Korra said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Ah-ah.” Asami held up her bracelet covered wrist.

Korra laughed. “Fair is fair,” she said and released another deep breath. She turned more on her side to face Asami, who then placed a hand on her cheek and leaned forward to give her another row of kisses on the lips. Korra couldn’t help but smile a little at receiving Asami’s undivided attention again. “My mom called me this morning,” she said.

“How is she?” Asami asked.

“Good. Though you probably know that already since you have her number on speed dial.” She knew all too well of how often Senna and Asami texted.

“I did, but it’s nice to hear that you know how she’s doing as well. What did you guys talk about?”

“She told me that Tonraq wants to see me.”

“What?” Asami leaned back and looked at her. “Really?”

“Yeah…”

Asami seemed to realize something. “That’s what you were upset about this morning, wasn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say I was upset, but it was definitely on my mind.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Because there’s been a lot going on, as I’m sure you noticed. I just thought it’d be better if I waited until we were back home.”

Asami nodded, carding her fingers through Korra’s hair. “What did you tell her?” she asked.

“I couldn’t really say anything because I was so shocked. She told me that I didn’t have to respond right away and to think it over.”

“And how do you feel about it right now?”

Korra sighed and gave it a couple seconds of thought. “That it could do more harm than good. There’s a reason why we haven’t spoken in almost a decade.”

“Maybe he wants to apologize for that after seeing how much of an effort your mom is putting in to rebuilding your relationship.”

“But even if he did… It still doesn’t mean I have to forgive him.”

“No, definitely not. You’ve been through a lot because of him, and I know it won’t be an easy decision for you to make.”

Korra pulled Asami’s hand from her hair and brought it to her face again, then she kissed the inside of her wrist.

“What do you think I should do?” she asked.

“I can’t make that decision for you, Korra,” Asami said.

“I know that, but your opinion always matters to me. Always.”

Asami didn’t speak for a while, thinking carefully, and Korra just watched her face. Even with her hair fallen messily against the pillow, the couple of sniffles she’d give every once in a while, and those puffy, red rimmed eyes, she still looked like an angel.

“When I went to see my father in jail for the very last time, I told him exactly how I felt, what he did wrong, and how it affected me in the long run… but I also let him know that I was my own person now and could survive without him. And even though he didn't seem to care then, it gave me back so much of my own power. I think I needed that to be able to move forward with us.”

Korra nodded, recalling the day Asami told her about that visit, the confidence she exuded, and how happy she was with her decision.

“So, you think I should?”

Asami shook her head. “I want you to do whatever will give you peace of mind the most. Either way, I’m going to support you. And if you do decide to go up there, I will clear my schedule and go up there with you, too.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I _want_ to do it.” Asami leaned over her. “Wherever you are, I wanna be.”

Korra smiled. “That sounds familiar.”

“Yeah, this really gorgeous chick told me something like that once.”

“Hmm. Someone I know? Should I be jealous?”

Asami smiled and put her head onto Korra’s chest, and Korra reciprocated the gesture by wrapping her arms around Asami’s waist and burying her face in her hair. Inhaling the strong lavender scent, she relaxed. She still didn’t know what her final decision would be on that front, nor did she know exactly how she would deal with the Mako situation. But even with the uncertainty that lay ahead of her, she knew having Asami by her side made everything so much easier; seem so much more possible.

Somehow, someway, she’d figure it all out.


	7. Now or Never

With their flight at noon, Asami and Korra woke up early the next day to pack. Asami kept quiet for the most part, still clearly upset and exhausted from all of the emotions she poured out the night before. But every once in a while, Korra would crack a joke, managing to get even the smallest of smiles out of her. She knew it’d been a lost cause telling Asami not to worry about Mako’s recent discovery. It wasn’t that it didn’t concern Korra either, but only one of them could afford to check out while the other pulled it together and thought ahead. Korra knew she would have to do something soon before it sent Asami spiraling into another mental breakdown, and that thought alone gave her all the motivation she needed.

Bolin and Opal were already up as well, taking care of Xia, who apparently chose to be wide awake since 3 in the morning. Deciding to show them some mercy, Asami let the new parents have some time alone to rest and took Xia off their hands until she needed a feed. It’d only been a couple of days, but with how much Xia was currently eating, she appeared to be gaining weight at a steady pace. She also didn’t cry once in Asami’s arms, only starting up when Asami attempted to put her down for a moment.

Meanwhile, Korra decided she’d go on one last run before they left. She liked getting to be out in the woods and hear the sounds of nature rather than airplanes and car horns. It made Asami’s idea of them living in the middle of nowhere seem more appealing each and every day.

After tying her shoes, she walked into the nursery, where Asami had been rocking Xia to sleep, and gave her a kiss goodbye.

“That felt… weird.” Korra paused, looking down at the two of them.

“U-huh. Don’t go getting any ideas,” Asami said, narrowing her eyes playfully.

“I’m not, I’m not,” Korra started with a laugh. “Be back in an hour, tops.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

Korra headed downstairs, taking her headphones from around her neck and putting each bud in the respective ear. As she scrolled through the phone and tried to find a good playlist, she opened up the front door…

And stopped.

Mako sat there on the porch steps, a cup of coffee in his hands as he watched the sun rise above the trees, though with the area being so covered with them, everything was cast in shadow. Mako glanced back and saw her, then immediately looked forward again.

Closing the door behind her, Korra kept walking, brushing by him as she headed down the porch. She took some time to stretch her legs and arms, but as time dragged on, and she could literally feel Mako’s eyes digging into the back of her skull, she realized this was a now or never moment. She didn’t know what would happen, or what she wanted to say. All she knew was that Asami and Bolin weren’t there, and this time nothing could hold her back.

She ripped the earphones from her lobes and turned around.

“You’re a real asshole, you know?” she said.

Mako’s brows knitted, and he appeared surprised by her outburst. But rather than immediately going on the defensive, he tilted his head slightly and stared at her with a look of curiosity.

“And how is that? Because I could say the same thing about you guys with all of the lying and gaslighting you’ve been doing.”

 _“Gaslighting?”_ Korra made a noise. “It’s no one’s fault that you can’t leave well enough alone. You’re not a victim, no matter how much Asami pities your sorry ass. And that’s just it. Even now, it’s tearing her up inside and she’s making excuses for you and blaming herself because you’ve made it well-known how badly she hurt you. Why can’t that just be enough? What else does she have to do?”

“Why are you of all people so desperate for me to forgive her?” Mako asked, sitting his coffee mug down and getting up. “Shouldn’t you be happy about this? You finally succeeded at having Asami all to yourself. You’ve got her wrapped around your little finger and I know you’re just eating that shit up.”

“You really do have this warped perception of me, don’t you?” Korra asked, shaking her head with a laugh. “Don't you think I _wish_ I could think that way? That she would finally just be done with you and let you go? You make it so easy to want to push for that, too. But I don't. Because wishing that means wishing her pain, and I would _never._ I'm starting to question if that's your motive though.”

“You have no right to say that,” Mako's voice raised as he approached her, but Korra stood her ground, even as he got closer. “You say I’m not a victim, but I’m also not the villain either. The other night, I could’ve told Lin and the rest of the family the truth, but I didn’t. For the past 8 months I could’ve ratted Asami out, but I didn’t. I chose protecting her over my own career and morals.”

“Wasn’t it you the other day who said you’re looking out for yourself and no one else? Now all of a sudden you’re implying you did that to _benefit_ her? Are you just incapable of being consistent, or do you get off on being such a pain in the ass?”

“I don’t need to explain my actions to you.”

“Well actions speak louder than words. If what I said is not the case, then why make a bunch of empty threats you and I both know you’ll never deliver on? Why take some job elsewhere, knowing eventually she’d find out from someone else, because come on, we both know you weren’t going to tell her directly.”

She didn’t know for certain if either of those things were true, but it didn’t stop her from pushing. Eventually she would hit the mark and trip him up, or set him off. And while she should’ve rooted for the former, the latter sounded richer.

“You don’t know what I would’ve done,” Mako said.

“Don’t I?” she asked, watching his face for a reaction. “We’re one of the very few people who know her greatest weakness. That’s why you had to have known what it would’ve done to her if you just suddenly up and left without a word. You saw what happened when I did it. So, what? Is this your way of finally getting back at her after harboring all of that repressed anger for almost a decade?”

Mako stared, his face hardening. He didn’t offer a response right off the bat, which only made Korra believe her words were true.

“None of this would’ve ever happened if you hadn’t come back into the picture and that’s a fact,” he said.

“Don’t you ever get tired of blaming me for everything? I wouldn’t be back in the picture if Asami hadn’t sought me out. I accepted that I could never have her and fought to keep out of her life in the beginning, but she _wanted_ me. She may not need me, but she asks me to stay with her anyway because I make her happy. And you can whine and moan and bitch all you want, but I’m not going anywhere. So, here’s the deal: If you want to remain a part of Asami’s life, I’m willing to be civil for her sake and let bygones be bygones. But if you so much as try to come between us or hurt her in any more ways than you already have, I will put you on your ass faster than you’ll be able to utter the word ‘sorry.’”

“That’s a threat?”

“You fucking bet that’s a threat,” Korra said.

Mako’s jaw locked, his breathing audible through his pointed nose.

“You really think she’s going to be waiting outside my window if I left?” he asked after ten long seconds. “That may have been the case with you, but she was also in love with you then. Way more than she’d ever been in love with me. If I left, she’d care for maybe a week and then it’ll be back to business as usual.”

“You’ve got her so wrong for someone who claims to know her so well.”

“I do know her.”

“You don’t. Because if you did, you’d know how much she’d fight for you and ask you to stay. Even I can admit that your friendship still means a lot to her and how much it would crush her to lose it. You on the other hand, I can’t say for certain how much that friendship meant to you, unless it wasn’t enough for you… Because you’re still in love with her.”

It fell from her mouth so easily. Korra didn’t even think about the ramifications of her words before releasing them. It was the perfect ‘gotcha!’ moment, but she also knew that deep down she’d been wanting to know the answer to that question for a long time. It wouldn’t have done her any good to know the answer—or at least the answer that would be her worst nightmare—but at least in knowing, she wouldn’t have to stop herself from thinking the worst of this man. Punishing a friend by continuing to make them feel bad for a terrible mistake they were already remorseful about was one thing. Punishing an ex-girlfriend who he now called his “best friend” out of bitterness for her current relationship was on another level of despicable.

“You really think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?” Mako asked. “At the end of the day, she dug herself into a deep hole for you and your illegal behavior. If that’s the kind of person she wants to be with from now on, I’m not going to stick around for it. I just wonder how you’re able to sleep at night knowing that you’ve caused all this; turned her into this person who can lie so easily and hide things from her friends.”

Korra’s temper flared, her hands beginning to tremble at her sides.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, and you have no proof of this ‘illegal behavior’ of mine,” she said, her voice rumbling with every word.

“Tangible evidence? No. But I’m very capable of putting two and two together. It all makes sense to me now, which I guess shouldn’t be all that surprising, right? In the past, you let yourself be influenced by all of the wrong kinds of people that you _chose_ to let into your life. It’s just become a pattern of terrible life choices, I guess.”

“Shut up.”

“You can say what you want, deny everything, but I know what I saw throughout the years,” Mako continued. “I didn’t want her around you because I knew wherever you went she would try to follow, and it would ruin her. But even when you were gone, you still managed to do that, so good job.”

Korra grabbed him by the shirt. “Stop. Talking.”

“She was my best friend! I’ve done _everything_ for her. It wasn’t you who she called crying in the middle of the night when we were 13 because she missed her mom, and it wasn’t _you_ who she would push and pull away those couple of years after high school and during her father’s trial. You **left** her! Abandoned her around a time when she felt like she didn’t have anybody. And what’s really sick is that you’re going to keep doing it again and again, but she’ll forgive you every. Single. Time. Because you’re like an addiction she just can’t break. A drug she’ll keep taking over and over until one day there’s nothing left. And I don’t know what’s worse: dying from an overdose, or dying from withdrawals—”

Before Korra knew it, her right arm sliced through the air and her hard fist connected with Mako’s jaw. It sent him crashing to the ground, dust bursting into the air from how hard he hit the pavement. Korra shook as she stood over him, her breathing heavy, and lips folded over her teeth as she bared them. She wanted to tear him apart, punch him a million times until all her knuckles broke and her fingers went numb. But the moment never came. His words continued to linger, floating around her head in a continuous loop.

“You. Don’t. Know. Me.” She said, every word dripping from her mouth with so much emotion that she sounded on the verge of tears. A minute later, she fell to her knees, her own feelings too heavy to keep her standing.

Mako held his mouth, looking down and noticing the blood on his hand. He looked over at her, prepared to yell. But when he saw her face, something stopped him. The angered look washed away, and for the first time ever, he seemed regretful over his words aimed at her. Instead of getting up, he continued to sit there, but he looked elsewhere, over at the audience of trees that were so still, almost as if they were hanging on to every word the two of them threw at each other. The silence between them lasted a while.

“You’re right,” he whispered minutes later, much to Korra’s surprise.

“What?” she asked, still keeping herself guarded.

“I don’t know you,” Mako said in agreement. “I never made an effort and Asami’s always resented me for it. All those fights we had after you guys became friends, the break ups... I blamed you for a lot of them. You say she makes so many excuses for me? That’s all I ever thought she did for you.”

“And that’s why you resent me so much,” Korra assumed.

“Are you going to say you didn’t resent me for the same reason?” Mako asked, though his question needed no response. “I’m not so delusional that I can’t recognize my own faults. I know how shitty of a friend I’ve been lately. I know how much of a bad boyfriend I was to her. But I thought the difference between us was that I could admit those things to myself while you just continued to get away with what you’ve done because Asami only cared if you were still in her life.”

“That’s not—”

“I know it’s not true on some level,” Mako said. “A part of me has always known that. I just didn’t want to admit it, because that would’ve meant that we really do have more in common than I ever wanted us to.”

Korra wanted to begrudge those words, to tell him that, no, they weren’t alike whatsoever. But like him, she couldn’t anymore. They both made mistakes, broke Asami’s heart more than once, continued to be forgiven despite all of the complications they brought into her life…

“She’s a masochist… falling for broken people like us,” she said.

“Agreed,” Mako said, wiping more blood from his mouth. “But that stems from being broken herself.”

“Also agreed.” Korra put her knees up to her chest and hugged them. She never imagined an explosive interaction would turn into _this._ They were the two people who knew Asami the best, knew what it was like to be loved so deeply by her. She looked over at Mako, who glanced at her at the same time. “You know if you really leave New York without resolving anything with her, she’ll really hate you, right?”

Mako copied her by bringing his knees up. “I know.”

“So then what are you going to do?”

“It’d be easier for all of us if I was out of the equation, wouldn’t it?”

“Easier doesn’t mean it’s the right way,” Korra said, and just as she said it, she oddly came to a realization.

“Maybe you’re right,” Mako said, interrupting her train of thought. “But in this case, I can only see it getting harder from here if I did stay.”

“Are you still in love with her?” Korra asked.

Mako chuckled. “I think that ship has sailed.”

“That’s not a real answer.”

Getting up, Mako wiped at his sweatpants, though they’d already been stained by the dirt. Then he looked down at her, paused, and a second later offered his hand. Korra stared at it for several seconds and then cautiously took it, letting herself be pulled up. 

“I’m always going to love her,” he said. “And sometimes, yeah, I do think about what could’ve been if you hadn’t come back and if we ever decided to try again. But as far as being _in_ love… Even if I said yes, it’s not like it would change anything. You’re always going to be the one she chooses out of the two of us. You’re going to be worth it every time, no matter what. I’m not going to be bitter about that anymore.”

“Does that mean you’ll go upstairs and apologize for being an asshole?” Korra asked, folding her arms.

“You know as well as I do that this is more than just about us,” Mako said. “She’s done things that could have jeopardized my career and lied about it for so long.”

“Yeah, but that’s not her fault,” Korra said.

“I know. Which is why I’ll never be able to trust that you guys being together won’t lead to her treading down an even more dangerous path and continuing to lie.”

“Do I need to hit you again? I’m not involved with whatever you think it is I’m involved with.”

“Anymore?” Mako questioned and looked down at the hand she used to clobber him with.

Korra looked down at it as well and flexed her fingers, making sure nothing was broken.

“Not anymore,” she said. “Believe it or not, I’ve changed a lot since we got together, and I’m not going to fuck it up by doing anything stupid.”

Mako took his time to respond, but his eyes never left hers.

“I’ve got a big enough caseload on my hands as it is that I don’t need another thing added. I just hope that for her sake you really don’t have any involvement with that anymore. As long as you stay out of it, when or if the time comes, there shouldn’t be any problem on your hands.”

“And I hope for your sake that you wisely pick and choose the battles you want to fight,” Korra said. She could only think about Blackstone, the potential danger her friends were in, and even the danger Mako would be in if Varrick ever found out.

“Then I guess we both gave each other decent warnings then,” Mako said.

“I guess we did,” Korra agreed.

Mako nodded and started making his way back into the house, but then he stopped as he reached the porch steps, grabbing his coffee, and looked back at her.

“We’re still not friends, by the way,” he said.

Despite the final traded remarks, Korra found humor in that comment. “Making friends with the law isn’t exactly my style, as I’m sure you know.”

Mako smirked and went back into the house.

Korra exhaled, releasing all of the tension built up, and flexed her fingers again.

The two of them didn’t reach that moment of friendship Asami always wanted, but that was never going to happen anyway. Instead, it ended in acknowledgment, and for Korra that was the best case scenario. She did what she could for right now, and she hoped that Mako would do right by Asami in the end. And for some reason, she had faith that he would.

On that note, she set off on her run.

* * *

“I can’t believe you guys are leaving already. Can’t you stay for another week? Months? Or how about just forever?”

Opal's arms squeezed around Korra and Asami’s necks, crushing them both to her like her life depended on it. They were standing at the door, Bolin close by with Xia in his hands.

“You know I would if I could,” Korra heard Asami say. When they pulled away she looked very emotional. “I’ll call every week, and I expect you to spam me with loads of photos. If she so much as grows two inches without my knowledge, I will not be afraid to call you out.”

Opal laughed and wiped her teary eyes. “You have my word,” she said, and then she turned her attention fully on Korra. “And _you_ , missy, have my number now. So don’t be afraid to text or give me a call. Especially if you need me to straighten her out,” she pointed at Asami.

Korra smiled. “I doubt the latter part will be necessary, but I’m looking forward to hearing your voice more often.”

“Oh gosh, you’re so sweet.” Opal put her hands to her flushing cheeks. “Asami, you really are one lucky woman.”

“Okay, okay, let’s not get too excited,” Bolin said, stepping forward and handing Xia off to Opal. He turned to Korra. “You’re not aiming to steal my wife, are you?”

“Don’t worry, she’s all yours,” Korra said, laughing. “Though when would be a good time for us to have a chat about this so-called intense crush you had on me that I never knew about?”

Bolin sputtered and turned to Opal who started cracking up. “You told her?”

“Come on, babe. It’s adorable. Asami told me all about your little antics to get her attention.”

“Wait, you knew about it, too?” Korra quickly looked over in Asami’s direction, stunned.

“Oh, honey.” Asami hugged her by the shoulders. “And you call me the oblivious one?”

Bolin cleared his throat, a noticeable look of embarrassment on his face told by the reddening of his cheeks. “Well, old crushes—and I mean _really old_ crushes—aside, it was definitely nice to have the both of you around these past couple of days.”

“You have the entire car ride to say goodbye to us, Bo,” Asami pointed out.

“I know, but it’s nice to say while we’re all still together like this,” he said. Turning to Opal, they shared a quick kiss, then he leaned down to place another one on Xia’s forehead. Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he walked out of the door first and took Korra and Asami’s bags with him.

After one last hug from Opal (and her jokingly signaling for Korra to call her), Korra followed behind Bolin, giving Asami and Opal more time to say goodbye. When Bolin unlocked the door for her, she hopped into the car, mentally checking to see if she might’ve forgotten anything. Bolin got into the car a minute later.

“That’s a sight I didn’t think I’d get to see during your trip,” Bolin said, giving a point.

Korra followed his eyes out the window and saw Asami standing outside the door of the house with Mako now. Asami’s back was to them, so Korra couldn’t see what the interaction was about. However, she didn’t make an effort to analyze Mako’s facial expressions or read his lips.

After getting back from her run, she didn't notice a change in Asami's demeanor, nor did she ask Asami if Mako went and spoke to her. If that talk happened and had gone bad, she knew Asami would've told her or at least worn it on her sleeve, but since it didn't appear that way, Korra wouldn't try to pry that information out of her. She didn't need to know _everything_ in regard to their relationship. As long as he wasn't being an asshole and treating Asami badly, she would let them have their few and far between private moments. 

Whatever conversation they had didn’t last long, but it did end with Mako placing a hand on her shoulder. When Asami turned around, Korra didn’t see any signs of anger or overblown joy on her face. It remained neutral. She joined Korra in the backseat and gave her a soft smile.

“Everything okay?” Bolin asked when a few long moments passed by and no one offered any sort of curiosity or information.

“Yup. He wants to have coffee or lunch with me soon,” Asami spoke nonchalantly.

“Well, that’s great. Progress, right?” Bolin asked, giving a thumbs up.

“I’ll determine that whenever the day happens, but for now I’m not really thinking about it,” Asami said. She scooted closer to Korra and put her head on her shoulder, looping their arms together as she did.

“Fair enough,” Bolin said and started the car, some soft rock music playing from the radio. 

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Korra asked, slightly turning her head.

Asami raised hers for a brief moment, a genuine smile on her face. “I will be. I am.”

“Still, I’m sorry for all of the things you've had to go through during this trip.”

“Don't be. I know that not everything can be wrapped up super neatly and tied up with a bow. But some things can, and I choose to focus on those ones.”

Korra hummed and leaned her head against Asami's. She wondered about months from now, a year from now, and the many that would come after. There would be so many things that came their way at any time, and most of them would be unexpected. Life was full of surprises, after all. However, Korra wouldn’t let that fear of no control keep her trapped in a cocoon of paranoia. Not when she needed to take care of so many things; so many people—the first priority being the woman right beside her. Because as long as she had _this_ and knew it was forever, she wouldn't let anything stand in the way of that bright future they would have together.

**END**


End file.
